Russetfur Rising
by WolfWarriorz
Summary: Driven by grief for her father, Russetkit strives to become the best warrior she can be, hoping to one day take her father's place as leader of ShadowClan.
1. Allegiances & Prologue

**A/N: Guys, I KNOW Russetfur was a rogue and was not born in ShadowClan; this is my version, so deal. This is sort of a continuation of Cedarstar's Secret, which if you haven't read, you should, at least before you read this. Search it. This is the ShadowClan allegiances at the beginning of this story (And for those of you who have read Cedarstar's Secret, I fixed Hollywhisker/flower's name, Lizardfang's gender, Littlepaw's appearance, and Foxkit's gender in this story, okay? Yellowfang. whom I forgot about in the CS, will be explained in this story. And I will try to fit the actual events occurring in the books as best I can!), and the prologue is at the bottom! (Tee-hee, I said bottom!) Okay, enough immaturity on my part; and remember to R&R!**

**SHADOWCLAN**

**Leader: Raggedstar -** large, dark brown tabby tom with ragged, patchy fur and yellow eyes

**Apprentice, Blackpaw **

**Deputy: Lizardfang - **light brown tabby she-cat with one hooked tooth

**Medicine Cat: Runningnose - **small gray-and-white tom with amber eyes and a constantly running nose

**Apprentice, Littlepaw **

**Warriors: Hollyflower - **dark gray and white she-cat

******Poolcloud - **gray and white she-cat

**Featherstorm - **brown tabby she-cat

**Litttlebird - **small, ginger tabby she-cat

**Dawncloud - **small tabby she-cat

**Archeye - **gray tabby tom with black stripes and a thick stripe over one eye

**Yellowfang - **battle-scarred, dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face, and orange eyes

**Apprentices: Blackpaw - **a large, white tom, with huge, jet-black paws black ears, and amber eyes.

**Littlepaw -** an undersized brown tabby tom with light blue eyes

**Queens: Crowtail- **skinny black tabby she-cat, mother of Cedarstar's kits

**Kits: Russetkit - **dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Foxkit - **bright ginger she-cat with pale green eyes

**Rowankit - **ginger tom

**Cedarkit - **dark gray tom with amber eyes

**Oakkit - **small brown tom with yellow eyes

**Tallkit - **long-legged light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Elders: ****Stonetooth -** is a thin gray tabby tom with long teeth

* * *

_**Prologue:**_

The small ginger she-kit blinked open her pale green eyes and looked around her in wonder. She cuddled closer to Crowtail, her mother, for a minute before seeing her father, the leader of the Clan. Cedarstar. "Can I go out to explore?" she asked hopefully, wanting to see the rest of the camp. But her mother just chuckled and said, "Not just yet, little one. Wait for your litter-mates to be ready." Just then, Oakkit chirped, "I'm ready! I am!" Russetkit looked at Crowtail pleadingly. "Oh, alright, but stick together, you two!" Russetkit nudged her brother to his tiny paws, and they scampered out of the den, Crowtail's watchful gaze burning into their pelts as they ran off. Russetkit rolled her eyes as if to say, "We'll be fine!"

Russetkit looked around her in wonder. "Look at that, Oakkit!" she gasped as she stared at a hunting patrol coming through, with a huge warrior leading it. Oakkit leaned back slightly as the warrior walked toward them, but Russetkit, ever brave, asked, "What's your name?" The large, dark brown tabby tom smiled. "I am Raggedpelt, the deputy. And you are?" He replied with a question. "I'm Russetkit, daughter of Cedarstar." she said proudly, then added as an afterthought, "And this is my brother Oakkit, son of Cedarstar." she liked saying it formally, and wondered if she might possibly be Russetstar one day.

A large crash resounded outside of the camp, and Russetkit stood protectively over Oakkit, though she was trembling slightly. Cedarstar bounded out of the medicine den and shouted, "Tallkit! Oakkit! Foxkit! Russetkit! Back to the nursery!" Russetkit was only too happy to oblige, and she pressed on Oakkit's paws as they ran quickly to the den. She peeked out of the den fearfully, wondering what could be happening.

Crowtail stepped up beside her, her strong fear-scent less than comforting. Her father yowled, "A Twoleg! get back, everyone!" The young kit flattened her ears. Twoleg? Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. Russetkit's eyes widened in horror as a fleshy, pink, monstrously huge creature picked up Cedarstar in its paw. She met her father's terrified gaze for a brief moment before the Twoleg carried him off.

Crowtail looked down at her brother who didn't have a name, and said in a grief-filled voice, "Cedarkit." She knew that was her brother's new name, in honor of their father. Did Crowtail believe the Twoleg was going to kill Cedarstar? Russetkit shuddered, but brushed her pelt against Cedarkit's comfortingly. She put both of her tiny paws on Crowtail's fore-leg and looked into her eyes with what she hoped was a steely mask of determination, though the grief she felt from losing her father welled inside her like a roaring river. "It's okay. Don't cry. I'll be leader one day and take his place." Her black-furred mother burst into tears, but Russetkit's mind was elsewhere.

_By the power in my heart and in my claws, by StarClan, I **will** take Cedarstar's place. His life ended far too early, but I will make sure his legacy is remembered. I, Russetkit of ShadowClan, daughter of Cedarstar and Crowtail, **will be leader!**_


	2. Apprentice

**Chapter 1: Aftermath**

Russetkit kneaded her dark ginger paws with impatience. Crowtail was staring morosely at Cedarkit again. He kept asking to leave the den, but she refused. "No, Cedarkit, it's far too dangerous. Just, no." She had let all the other kits go out to play, but never Cedarkit. "Crowtail! I know you miss your mate, but Cedarkit won't get hurt if he leaves the den. We're five moons old, and he's hardly been out of the nursery." Russetkit snapped at her mother. The black she-cat flicked her tail crossly, but Russetkit could see in her eyes that the truth was staring at her. "Very well. But be careful, for StarClan's sake. Russetkit, go with him, and make sure he doesn't get hurt." She pressed her fur against her brother while rolling her eyes. Excitement was thrumming through him; she could sense it.

Russetkit shared a special bond with Foxkit, but she was quite close to Cedarkit as well. "Let's go!" Russetkit said, but a fluffy white bundle blocked their path. Cloudkit, Poolcloud's kit, had been born two moons previous along with his sister, Whitekit. "Can I come too?" He asked, pale blue eyes wide. "Umm..." Russetkit said uncomfortably. She like Cloudkit well enough, but she wanted this to be special, just her and her brother. "I'll go with you, Cloudkit." said Foxkit quickly, smiling at him. _Thanks, Foxkit. _though Russetkit fervently. it must have shown in her eyes, because Foxkit smiled knowingly at her before padding out of the den with Cloudkit.

Russetkit and Cedarkit bounded out of the den to see Raggedstar conversing with a large, scruffy ginger tom and a gray tabby. Russetkit swept her tail over Cedarkit's mouth to make sure he kept quiet, then darted into a nearby bush so she could hear what they were saying. Cedarkit pressed next to her, silent as a stone. "So your names are...?" Raggedstar asked the other cats. "This is my brother Foot. I'm Jagged. I was a rogue, but I've heard of these Clans and they sound like, perhaps, a better way to live." Raggedstar dipped his head. "And you understand what this means? You will hunt for the queens, kits, and elders, as well as yourself. Your whole life will be dedicated to keeping the Clan safe." Jagged said in a low voice, "My kits were killed by another rogue a long time ago. They never stood a chance. I know that here, if I ever took a mate and she had kits, they would be safe. And I wouldn't want any other tom see his kits slaughtered before his very eyes, either. No cat could wish that upon another." Raggedstar's eyes seemed to soften. "You have well enough reason. Today, you shall receive a warrior name, and an apprentice. When I call all the cats together in a while, sit close to the tree. Talk to no cat." The ginger tom nodded and said, "Thank you."

Russetkit stared wide-eyed at Cedarkit as the two toms padded away. "He's getting an apprentice today? That must mean we're becoming apprentices!" Cedarkit grinned. "This is awesome! And it has to be us! We're six moons in a few days, he must have decided to do the ceremony a few days early!" Then his face fell. "Crowtail won't be happy..." She brushed her fur against his. "She'll be alright. Besides, she needs to realize that we can take care of ourselves. I bet you'll miss Whitekit more than you'll miss Crowtail!" She giggled as Cedarkit blushed furiously. "Shut up!" he said embarrassedly, tackling her to the ground. Reacting quickly, she bucked him off and pinned him to the ground, her teeth in his ear. He surrendered, but then pounced on her again and they scuffled in the dirt.

"Russetkit! Cedarkit!" A deep voice called, and the two kits, their fur caked with earth, looked up to see Raggedstar frowning at them. "You'd best clean yourselves up." Cedarkit piped up, "For our ap- Ow!" Russetkit had dug her tiny claws into his tail, warning him to hush. "Why, Raggedstar?" She said innocently. "You and your littermates are becoming apprentices today." She feigned surprise, and the excitement she truly felt made up for whatever her lie lacked. "Wow! Can I go tell Foxkit?" The leader nodded. "Be ready in a little while. It won't be long now!" The two kits hurried off, Cedarkit muttering, "You didn't have to claw me that much."

Russetkit rolled her eyes. "Sorry, but if Raggedstar knew we'd listened he might be mad." Cedarkit let out a small smile. "I wonder who our mentors are going to be..." Russetkit speculated. "I've no idea." Foxkit and Cloudkit walked up to them, Foxkit looking quite curious. "What's going on?" Russetkit knew her sister had felt her own excitement; she often knew how Foxkit was feeling. "We're going to be apprentices! Raggedstar just told us!" She grinned happily. "What's this?" asked Crowtail with a note of restrained fear. Russetkit ex-haled impatiently. "Cedarkit will survive as an apprentice." she said in a hard tone of voice. She loved her mother, but sometimes she was just way too overprotective. "I know you will be okay, Russetkit, but Cedarkit's kind of small..." Foxkit rolled her eyes. "If Cedarkit's small, then Oakkit and I are midgets." Oakkit had just came out of the nursery. "Who's a midget, now?" He grinned.

"Stop worrying over me, Crowtail! I am just as capable as anyone. I will be fine." Cedarkit said exasperatedly. The black tabby she-cat looked at her paws, then scooped him closer and started cleaning his fur wordlessly. Russetkit felt a pang of kittish jealousy as she cleaned her fur by herself. Crowtail really had cared more for Cedarkit than her other kits, but Russetkit knew he didn't ask for it or like it, and it was probably only because of his namesake. Still, she did get a bit fed-up with her mother.

Soon all the kits' pelts were beautiful and shiny, and Raggedstar leaped into the tree where he announced the meeting. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather beneath the Great Pine for a Clan meeting!" In the background, Russetkit could hear Whitekit and Cloudkit begging Poolcloud to let them watch, but her heart was pounding as she wound her way through the throng of cats to the front. She sat next to the rogue she had spied on earlier, Foxkit on her other side.

"Crowtail's kits have reached their sixth moon, and it is time for each of them to begin their apprenticeship. But before that, a warriors' ceremony is in order, though it doesn't involve just one cat." There was a spattering of murmurs at this. "Hush, please. Now, these two rogues-" he flicked his tail at Jagged and Foot, "would like to join ShadowClan. They have given me sufficient reason, and I have decided to let them join us. However, if they prove disloyal, let me assure you, there will be consequences. Now, would you two please step forward?" They complied and he gave them each a small smile. "Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own lives?" They nodded and he continued. "From this day forward, you shall be known as Jaggedtooth, and you shall be known as Wetfoot. Blackpaw, would you also please step forward?"

The white warrior with his big black paws did so, eyes shining with pride. "Blackpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own life?" "O do." said Blackpaw formally. "Then from this day forward, you shall be known as Blackfoot." Blackfoot let out a rare smile that reached his amber eyes. Raggedstar looked down at his former apprentice, then went on with the rather unconventional ceremony.

"Kits, please come forward." Russetkit walked closer to the Great Pine, matching her stride to Foxkit's, almost trembling with excitement. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior names, shall be known as Rowanpaw, Tallpaw, Foxpaw, Oakpaw, Russetpaw, and Cedarpaw. Rowanpaw, your mentor will be Jaggedtooth. I'm sure he has learned many things in his life, and will be a great mentor. " Her brother looked only the tiniest bit put out at having the rogue tom as his mentor. "Tallpaw, your mentor will be Blackfoot. I taught him and can assure you he will be an excellent mentor. Foxpaw, I would like to mentor you. You will only be my second apprentice, but I will try my best to make you into a great warrior."

Russetpaw felt another unreasonable stab of jealously then. She had half-hoped Raggedstar would be her mentor, though at the time he still had an apprentice. She shook it off, happy for her sister. "Oakpaw, your mentor will be Wetfoot, who, like his brother, probably has seen things no other ShadowClan cat has. Russetpaw, your mentor will be Hollyflower. Though you are kin, I'm sure she will make a good mentor. Cedarpaw, your mentor will be Yellowfang, who-" he broke off as Yellowfang interuppted him.

"Raggedstar, I cannot be Cedarpaw's mentor." He looked at her with deep surprise. "Why in StarClan not, Yellowfang?" The battle-scarred ex-rogue stared at her paws. "It is my wish to become a medicine cat." She waved her tail at the leader to stop him from speaking, causing half-shocked, half-angry mutterings to arise from the gathering of cats. "I know that Runningnose has an apprentice, however, warrior life does not suit me very well, so perhaps you would be so kind as to let me break the rules once again?" Raggedstar looked at her uncertainly, but there was something else in his eyes that Russetpaw didn't recognize.

"Erm, Yellowfang, you and I will discuss this later. So, instead...Cedarpaw, your mentor will be...Featherstorm. You will be her first apprentice, but I am sure she will pass on all the skills that Smokefrost taught her before she went to StarClan." He paused, and then broke the awkward, uncomfortable silence by cheering half-heartedly, "Jaggedtooth! Wetfoot! Blackfoot! Rowanpaw! Tallpaw! Foxpaw! Oakpaw! Russetpaw! Cedarpaw!" The rest of the Clan took up the cry slowly.

Foxpaw looked at Russetpaw concernedly. "I know you wanted Raggedstar as a mentor...I hope you're not mad at me?" Russetpaw rolled her eyes and batted at her tail playfully. "Of course I'm not mad, mouse-brain. besides, Hollyflower will be a great mentor. She was Cedarstar's sister." Foxpaw smiled. "I bet she'll be an awesome mentor. Oh, look, here she comes now!" The gray and white she-cat was indeed making her way over to the two ginger apprentices. "Hi Foxpaw. Russetpaw, we're off to see the territory. Let's go!" She said animatedly and walked to the camp entrance. "Have fun!" called Foxpaw, and the dark ginger she-cat padded after her new mentor with a spring in her step.


	3. Territory

**A/N: Hi guys! I just got short story of mine published in an anthology, just wanted to brag a little bit. Anyway, I am exquisitely disappointed that I got one, count it, ONE review for my last chapter! Spottedfire, thank you very very much. *Tosses a Russetpaw plushie to Spottedfire* Oh, and by chance, have you read my story Hunted? Just asking given your username... I am currently writing yet another story with my buddy, so this may have spacey updates. They will be even more spacey if I continue to get so few reviews! *glares at everyone but Spottedfire* And I checked my traffic; 53 visitors since I posted Chapter 2! And I'm sorry but 1/53rd percent of reviewers is almost depressing. C'mon guys! The button is lonely! Click it! One plushie of your choice to all reviewers! Just pick one of my charries... AS YOU REVIEW! Unless of course, you want Nightstar to come back and eat you. Your pick. **

Hollyflower's gray pelt disappeared through the camp entrance, and Russetpaw hurried after her mentor, her dark russet legs struggling to keep up. The marshy ground was damp and squishy, making her paws wet but not sore. She saw a mouse nibbling on an acorn under some oak shrub, then it dived into its hole. The ginger apprentice grinned as she explored her new territory.

She looked at her mentor's gray and white pelt, and it struck her how much she looked like Cedarstar. As they came to a stop next to a stream to drink, Russetpaw hesitantly asked, "Hollyflower? C-can you tell me about Cedarstar?" The warrior turned to her, her piercing green eyes full of pain. Russetpaw was struck that she even had the same color eyes as her father; as her. "He was a very brave warrior, Russetpaw. Ever since we were kits, he wanted to be just like Brackenfoot. Brackenfoot was the deputy, and our mother's littermate. He got Nightstar as a mentor, while I got Brackenfoot, but never once was he jealous. Not even when Nightstar proved to be just about the worst mentor the Clans have ever seen," she growled.

"Nightstar, I believe, was an evil cat. She was an awful mentor and there was always something about her... And yet, Cedarstar turned into a great warrior nonetheless. He had a strange knowledge of herbs and came up with fighting moves no ShadowClan cat had ever seen before. Every cat respected him, except perhaps Nightstar. Then when WindClan attacked, we all saw how well Raggedstar, his apprentice at the time, could fight though he was still a very new apprentice. He proved to be a great mentor. And then when both Nightstar and Brackenfoot were both killed, StarClan told Runningnose that Cedarleaf was to be leader...No one was really surprised.

"And then he took Crowtail as a mate, and he had been quite depressed up until then for StarClan knows why, but then he became happier. Perhaps the stress of becoming leader and the loss of so many cats hit him hard. But he brought Littlepaw and Blackfoot to the Clan, and they are as valuable to the Clan as any cat. He taught everything to Raggedstar, which is half the reason he's such a great leader today. I trust his judgement in bringing in those two rogues. Anyway, Cedarstar's life ended so early, but he'd met his kits and I believe he was truly happy, and if he doesn't earn his place in StarClan, I'll eat my tail. " She finished with a small smile.

Russetpaw sat in silence. Could she ever be as great a warrior as her father had been? If she wanted to become leader, she'd have to be. She felt a burning pride for her father mixed with ambition. Hollyflower stood and stretched, then continued on, Russetpaw right behind her. A foul stench filled the air, and Russetpaw wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Hollyflower, what-" the gray warrior interrupted, "Carrionplace. Sometimes, I'm afraid in Leafbare we don't have as much prey as the other Clans, and we can go here and find food. It's difficult to find any that's good, but we can get lucky. But only in dire times of need will we ever come to this place." She eyed Russetpaw warily, then smiled at the look of solemn understanding in her gaze.

A dark gray tom appeared from the other side of Carrionplace, and Hollyflower bristled protectively until she realized it was only Archeye. "Father! Join us. I'm showing Russetpaw the territory. Her first time out of camp." She looked a bit proud of her new apprentice. "Sure. Has she seen the Thunderpath yet?" Russetpaw shook her head timidly; Archeye was a respected senior warrior. Hollyflower said cheerfully, "That's where we're off to next." The kin set off, Russetpaw struggling to keep up with the two gray warriors, who were laughing and talking amiably. They soon neared the daunting wide Thunderpath.

There was a small, lean dead pigeon on the path. Archeye made as to fetch it, but Hollyflower held out her tail in warning and stopped him. "It's too scrawny. Not worth getting hit by a monster for. It's leaf-fall and we have plenty of prey now." Her father glowered a tiny bit but saw her reason and did not continue. Hollyflower winked at Russetpaw and said, "Across this path is ThunderClan territory. You can smell their scent markers; aren't they gross? Remember the scent anyway, because- " Russetpaw interjected, "What's that?" A bright ginger shape was slinking through the woods towards, Russetpaw realized with a jolt, what was a dark brown tabby kit.

Hollyflower jumped to her paws. "Fox! Come on, you two, cross NOW!" She ordered as there was a break in the slow trickle of monsters that were zooming past. Russetpaw streaked past, straight towards the kit. He was playing with a feather, blissfully unaware of the danger he was in. His bright amber eyes widened as he saw Russetpaw rocketing toawrds him, but his attention was snapped back to the present as the fox snarled viciously. He bristled up to twice his size (though it still wasn't much) just as Hollyflower crashed into the fox's side, hurling herself headlong at its neck and chest. Her face was a mask of rage.

The fox threw her mentor off, though she picked herself up and lunged back at the fox. Before the gray she-cat could intercept the vile creature again, it had reached Russetpaw, who was standing over the kit protectively. She twisted in air as it snapped at her, managing to rake her claws down its muzzle. It growled, fire flashing in its eyes as it tried yet again for the dark brown kit. Russetpaw dove underneath its belly and sank her teeth into the soft flesh of its belly, silently praying to StarClan for help; she had no idea what she was doing, just following her instincts, and she was already tired.

Her prayer was answered as Archeye tackled the fox, sending it toppling off of her, but the beast was much larger than him and he was old. She dove back into the fray, clawing and kicking biting wherever she could until finally it backed off as Hollyflower landed a vicious blow on his face. The three ShadowClan cats stood panting and bloody as the ThunderClan kit looked at them with awe. "I-I'm Tigerkit! Th-thank you for s-saving me. Who are you?" Tigerkit stammered and the two adult cats didn't both to answer, so Russetpaw replied, "I'm Russetpaw, this is my mentor Hollyflower, and her father, Archeye. We are from ShadowClan. Perhaps you should go back to camp?" She didn't feel very comfortable ordering around a cat from another Clan, but he was a kit, and she had just helped save his life, after all. And there was certainly wisdom in her words.

He nodded, surprisingly unshaken from his near-death experience. "Okay. ShadowClan will always be my friends! Thank you!" He turned and ran into the depths of the cool woods. Russetpaw wondered vaguely why he'd been out there on his own, but from the elders' tales, ThunderClan didn't really pay attention to the Warrior Code. Hollyflower led the way back to the Thunderpath and waited for a space to run past. Hollyflower said quietly, "Russetpaw, you fought like a warrior today, even though you've never even trained. You were fair and kind and didn't question putting yourself in danger for a ThunderClan cat. You've inherited your father's spirit. I am very, very proud of you." She smiled warmly, though the effect was diminshed by her ravaged pelt. Russetpaw felt as though she could fly with the praise her mentor had given her.

They traversed tiredly back to the camp, their wounds stinging painfully. As the entered the camp, several cats froze; Foxpaw was standing outside the elder's den, moss hanging from her mouth comically. Raggedstar and his brother, Ashfur, hurried over and demanded, "What happened?" Archeye replied, "Fox on ThunderClan territory. It was about to kill a kit, so we saved it." Hollyflower added kindly, "Russetpaw fought like she'd trained for moons." Raggedstar's expression flickered into a smile, then back into the somber acceptance with which he recieveed the news. "You three'd best go to Runningnose, Yellowfang, and Littlepaw." He said this loudly so all the cats that were gathering in the vicinity could hear; it might have been his way of letting the Clan know that Yellowfang was a medicine cat.

They padded to the medicine den and Littlepaw immediately began sniffing them over, no questions asked. "Pick a nest and clean those wounds, if you will," he requested and disappeared into the back of the den to fetch herbs. Yellowfang sat watching them curiously, paying attention as Littlepaw applied herbs to their wounds, surreptitiously murmuring their names without offending the older she-cat. "Goldenrod, for wounds..." He applied the soothing herb to her stinging pelt. "Dock..." He spoke in a louder tone. "Dawncloud had her kits while you were gone. Four healthy kits, surprisingly easy birth. They're all fine." He smiled in a self-satisfied way, and Russetpaw guessed that he had delivered the kits himself.

"What did she name them?" asked Hollyflower interestedly. "There were three toms and one she-cat. She named the she-cat Brightkit, and the toms Clawkit, Nightkit and Stumpykit." Archeye raised an eyebrow. "_Stumpykit_?" he asked incredulously. Littlepaw shrugged. "He had a pretty short little tail." Russetpaw giggled without meaning to, then quickly shut up and yawned. Hollyflower murmured, "Get some sleep, Russetpaw. You deserve it." With those words, the dark ginger she-ct drifted into swirling dreams of fighting, foxes, and handsome, dark-furred toms.

**A/N: Huh? Huh? Good chapter? Bad chapter? Does Russetpaw have a crush on Tigerkit? And shut up, it isn't gross, he's only a moon or two younger! Lol Anyway in Code of the Clans it said the patrol that saved Tigerkit from the fox was Hollyflower, Archeye, and Brackenfoot, but as I already killed off Brackenfoot, that would be rather strange if he reappeared... lol. Please review! You'll get a plushie! **


	4. Gathering

**A/N: Thanks Lacey for reviewing. *Tosses Tigerkit plushie* I'm just going to accept that I barely get any reviews and continue the story without further interruption... However, my plushie stockpile is ever-growing and never depleting until you guys review... Okay, last time asking for reviews, I promise. Anyway. Umm. There's not really a point to this Author's Note anymore... Well, I'm just going to plow on through with this story no matter how many reviewers I get because even if no one likes it, I like writing it! Happy Chapter 3!**

"Russetpaw...Russetpaw! Get your furry butt up! It's time for training!" Foxpaw said with a hint of impatience in her tone. "I'm up, I'm up," mumbled her sister, shaking the sleep from her eyes. She looked around the warm, crowded den at her litter mates. Light filtered through the brambles weakly; it was barely dawn. She was nearly a moon into her training, and tonight was the night of a Gathering! A whisper of excitement ran through her, making her stand straighter and look more alert.

She followed Foxpaw out of the den and up to Hollyflower and Raggedstar, who were stretching and yawning tiredly. "I'll fetch Crowtail and she can lead the dawn patrol, Hollyflower." said Raggedstar as he padded towards the warriors' den. "You two had best eat quickly if you're going to." Russetpaw's mentor advised in a tired murmur as she laid down, put her head on her paws, and closed her eyes. Foxpaw rolled her eyes at the warrior but dragged a frog from the pile anyway. The sisters wolfed it down quickly just as the rest of the patrol stood to leave.

The five warriors padded out of camp, an unusually large patrol given the apprentices, and into the still somewhat dark marsh. The wet ground underpaw was slightly crunchy with frosted-over grass and water, and it put a chill in Russetpaw's heart as well as her paws. Leaf-bare would not bring any better conditions, she was sure. The wind was rather bitter, slowly working its way through her thick fur and making her shiver slightly. As they passed the single, gnarled, twisted tree on this part of the territory, Russetpaw saw that the few leaves that adorned it were vibrant red and gold, though some were scattered about the ground, a crackling brown mess.

Crowtail quickened the pace as they neared the Thunderpath, and Russetpaw's stomach gave a funny little jerk as they traveled along where she, Hollyflower, and Archeye had saved Tigerkit. They renewed the scent markers, though Russetpaw thought it was a little bit pointless, as the stench of the Thunderpath easily covered any lingering scent. Nevertheless, they re-checked the border once more before returning to camp, as the grass, stiff with frost, became increasingly less firm as the sun grew stronger.

"You two should get some rest, since you're going to the Gathering tonight." Raggedstar nodded at Foxpaw and Russetpaw as they both yawned. "'Kay," murmured Foxpaw, and they both retreated to the warm apprentices' den. Russetpaw closed her eyes wearily, wondering vaguely what her first Gathering was going to be like before slipping into her dreams.

* * *

Night was falling in the ShadowClan camp, making the cats' shadows stretch across the camp. The sun sank lower in the sky setting the clouds and sky around it to fire. Stars peeked out, one-by-one, as evening descended. Raggedstar called the cats to order, and they set off through the darkening marsh towards FourTrees. ShadowClan territory looked different by night, though not in a bad way. The moon cast dappled shadows on the ground, lighting up the various cats as they passed through its glimmering light. Russetpaw felt more comfortable in the dark, where her pelt color wasn't as evident, and if she walked softly, it was as if she was not there at all.

The Thunderpath was also less dangerous at night, for the Twolegs had mostly retreated to their dens to await the dawn. The Clan crossed as one, without any narrow escapes, luckily. As Fourtrees loomed before them, Russetpaw quickened her pace, as did the rest of her Clan; the clearing would be warmer than the chill, open air, for there were so many bodies to fill it. Russetpaw spotted Hollyflower walking next to Foxpaw, and she hurried up to them.

Then they arrived. The four great oaks were a daunting image, taller than any tree Russetpaw had ever seen, though, admittedly, that wasn't very many. Cats from all Clans were gathered, mingling together with no clear boundary between Clans, sharing tongues and talking together. In the presence of so many cats, nearly all bigger than her, she stayed close to her sister and her mentor. ShadowClan filed in, last to arrive of the four Clans, between where ThunderClan and WindClan were each loosely gathered. Hollyflower pushed a path to the near front, close to the four towering trees.

Russetpaw glanced over at the ThunderClan cats and saw, much to her amusement, a jet-black warrior whose fur stuck up every which way. With a giggle, she nudged Hollyflower and asked, "Who is _that_?" nodding at the tom. Her mentor winked and said with a slight smile, "That's Fuzzypelt of ThunderClan. I don't advise asking if he's groomed properly, like I did at my first gathering. He was Fuzzypaw, then, but he didn't take too kindly to my question." As she finished, the warrior looked over and nodded at Hollyflower. She promptly got up, presumably to go and talk to him, leaving Russetpaw alone. Her eyes sought through the group of ThunderClan cats until they finally met with the pair of bright amber eyes that she'd been hoping to see.

Tigerkit, or 'paw, now, if he was here, sat next to a large tom, whose fur was also quite untidy, though his was a light gray as opposed to the deep black of Fuzzypelt's fur. Somewhere in the corner of her mind, she wondered disinterestedly if the two toms were related, but she was mostly focused on the smaller, younger cat beside the spiky-furred warrior. Tigerpaw seemed to have read her mind, because he weaved quickly through the crowd to speak with her. "Russetpaw!" he said with a slight smile, making his dark brown muzzle all the handsomer. She smiled nervously back, and said, "You're Tigerpaw now, right?" As he nodded, the dark ginger she-cat thought she glimpsed a flash of pride in his eyes. She gave a slight shiver as the wind picked up, and Tigerpaw pressed his thick fur to hers.

A rush of warmth spread through her, but she pushed it away. She liked his touch, but was also faintly nervous around him. The silence was unbearable, so she broke it awkwardly. "So, what's ThunderClan like?" she asked, not really knowing what to say. He gave her an amused glance, but before he could reply, a bright ginger tom began to address them. "Sunstar, our leader." whispered Tigerpaw before turning his attention back to where his leader was speaking. "Thunder Clan has two new warriors, Lionheart and Goldenflower, one new apprentice, Tigerpaw, and three new kits." The Clans cheered, "Goldenflower, Lionheart, Tigerpaw!" before the reports continued, and Russetpaw nuzzled the cat beside her on impulse. He flushed with pleasure and nuzzled her back. "We chased a fox back into Twolegplace and halted the kittypet invasions." Sunstar finished, and then Raggedstar stepped forward to speak.

"That's Raggedstar, my leader," Russetkit told Tigerpaw and he nodded with a smile. She could tell he respected the tom, probably for his scarred pelt, or maybe it was simply because it was his Clan that had saved him from the fox. "ShadowClan has a new medicine cat. Yellowfang will work alongside Runningnose and Littlepaw from now on." he said, chin up defiantly as several calls from below protested, mad that they now had three medicine cats. All the ShadowClan cats present received nasty glares from the cats around them, and Russetpaw met hers with a snarl. "Welcome, Yellowfang." said the gray RiverClan leader that Russetpaw knew to be Hailstar. His welcome seemed to quell at least his own Clan's protests, and Sunstar added, "May StarClan light your path." The WindClan leader, whose name was unknown to Russetpaw, also spoke. "I pray that your ancestors guide you wisely in your duties." Yellowfang nodded up at all of them, proud and dignified as ever, even in the presence of such important cats.

"We also have six new apprentices," continued Raggedstar as though the interruption had not happened. There were a few murmurs at this, though Russetpaw assumed that they had heard all the gossip before, when they were first born. "Foxpaw, Cedarpaw, Tallpaw, Oakpaw, Rowanpaw, and Russetpaw." he declared and cats from all Clan shouted their names, though they did not receive as much support as the ThunderClan cats had. She was a bit crestfallen at first, both because her name had been listed last, though she new it was a petty thing to concern with, but also because she knew that the other Clans were not very trusting of her own. But Tigerpaw gave her a swift lick, despite how many cats were already looking at her, and this cheered her up marginally.

The unknown WindClan leader stepped up to speak, looking as plump as a RiverClan cat, much to her surprise. She had thought they were thin and swift, though this may not be their normal appearance, she reasoned as she looked back at all the well-fed WindClan cats. "WindClan has thrived this leaf-fall. We have never seen so many rabbits on the moor, and we've made the most of StarClan's bountiful gift." the leader stepped back with a proud, arrogant smile that made Russetpaw take an immediate dislike to her.

"RiverClan, too, has enjoyed rich prey. The river has been full of fish and its banks stocked with prey." Hailstar said, gazing down into his Clan at a specific cat that Russetpaw could not see. "Oakheart has more information." he said, and said warrior leaped up to stand next to his leader. Cats everywhere looked scandalized, though Russetpaw herself was merely confused. She turned her face towards Tigerpaw and asked in a hushed tone, "Surely he shouldn't be allowed up there? Shellheart's still the deputy, right?" she scanned the far-away RiverClan group and thought she saw the dappled gray coat of the RiverClan deputy she'd heard about from Crowtail. Tigerpaw was just as puzzled as she was as he replied doubtfully, "Maybe he retired?" She shrugged, though the tom wasn't that old.

"I am sorry, " began the warrior named Oakheart, "I don not belong here, but with so many cats I was afraid you wouldn't be able to hear me from down there. I hope you will forgive my boldness." Russetpaw rolled her eyes and muttered, "Smooth-talker." She felt Tigerpaw smile into her pelt, as his muzzle was buried in the dark ginger fur on her shoulder. "I do not mean to offend. Twolegs have set up a camp on out land. Their nests are small and they keep changing as new Twolegs come and old Twolegs go. During Greenleaf, I led the patrols that monitored the intrusion." His gaze passed over the ShadowClan cats and Russetpaw restrained a sudden urge to stick her tongue out at him. "We wanted to discover the Twolegs' intentions, whether this was the beginning of a bigger invasion or the start of a new Twolegplace. As far as we can tell, the new camp exists to house Twolegs without proper nests..." The warrior kept talking, but Russetpaw found his little speech unbearably dull, and started a whispered conversation with Tigerpaw instead.

"So you have three medicine cats now?" Tigerpaw asked and Russetpaw felt a bit uncomfortable. "She asked to be one during my apprenticing ceremony, so Raggedstar let her." she told him. "You had a kittypet invasion?" she queried, vying to change the subject. "Yes. I drove one of them off all by myself!" he added, chest puffed out with pride. "Really?" she asked him interestedly; he could hardly be more than a quarter-moon, at most, into his training. "Well, it wasn't that difficult," he admitted, eyes darkening a little, but Russetpaw patched up her mistake by saying softly, "Wow." Now his amber gaze positively glowed.

The Gathering started to break up around them, and Tigerpaw said hurriedly, "Meet me at moonhigh tomorrow night, at the Thunderpath, where you saved me!" he turned to leave but Russetpaw held him back. "I can't do that! We're from different Clans, Tigerpaw. I'm sorry, but no." she did not want to see the disappointment in his eyes, so she swiftly padded to catch up with her Clan, but she'd caught a glimpse of it anyway. She forced herself not to look back, and held her chin high as she padded back to camp with her Clan, her paws passing over the crispy ground, fresh with the new formings of frost.

**A/N: I may start right away with the next chapter, I have an awesome layout for it! Anyway, I made a couple edits to the gathering, but yes, this was actually quite factual for a FF creation of mine. Timeline's a bit off, but W/e. Anyway, when I re-read this chapter I found that I had used the word "Crunchy" five separate times! And two of them were in the same sentence! I fixed four, but left the first one. With those hints, whoever can find and tell me where all five "crunchies" were gets an extra plushie of their choice, and I will use a name of theirs in one of my future stories, or possibly even this one! Just tell me desired plushie and name with your entry :) I know I might not get any reviews or Crunchy Contest entries, but I am still going to keep writing! Have fun guys! Oh, and by the way, that kittypet Tigerpaw drove off was actually Scourge/Tiny, so don't think he has magical powers just yet ;)**


	5. Training

**A/N: Two reviewers for the last chapter! Yay! *Gives plushie to warriorcrazy and Lacey* And thanks Lacey for participating in the crunchy contest; since you were the only one as of now, pick a name and I shall use it in a story of mine! (Probably this one, but if not, then in a separate one. ) my birthday is in a couple weeks (August 10) so my goal is to get two chapters done on every story of mine by then. (Except my Maximum Ride Story, which I have mostly given up on.) Ambitious, aren't I? xD Anyway, this chapter is set about an hour after Russetpaw gets back from the Gathering. You can't use the term "hour" in the story, so I am telling you in the Author's Note xP)**

A very strong scent of bracken and wild garlic woke Russetpaw from her dream of catching a giant frog. Her eyelids fluttered, but before she could go back to sleep, a familiar, faint voice whispered urgently in her ear, "Russetpaw!" Now her eyes flew open as she recognized the voice._ I must still be dreaming... _she thought as the cat to which the voice belonged to was not in sight. She began to close her eyes again before she felt claws in her tail and realized that perhaps the voice had come from behind her. She whipped around and found the amber eyes of Tigerpaw.

"What are you doing here!" Russetpaw hissed as quietly as she could while still being audible. How the ThunderClan apprentice had found ShadowClan camp was a mystery to her, but his motives to do so were even more of a mystery. He gave her a strained grin, then nodded to the den exit. With a faint sigh, she got to her weary paws and led the way out of the den. Dawncloud was standing guard, but she was slumped on the ground, fast asleep. Russetpaw shuddered slightly as she thought what would have happened to Tigerpaw if she'd been awake. Every cat in the Clan knew what a fierce fighter the young she-cat was. Even if she was, as Russetpaw expected, pregnant, she had no doubt that she could still fight.

The two apprentice slipped out of ShadowClan camp, and as soon as they were out of hearing range of Dawncloud, Russetpaw demanded, "What did you think you were doing, coming to another Clan's camp in the dead of night? Dawncloud might have killed you!" She tried to glare at him, but relief was still coursing through her at them not being caught. He wrinkled his nose, hurt in his eyes. "I thought I was coming to see you. I asked you to meet me, and you wouldn't, so I came to you. And it worked, didn't it? Who's Dawncloud?" Russetpaw flushed. "I said no for a reason, mouse-brain! And Dawncloud is the cat who was supposed to be guarding the camp." Tigerpaw's hurt expression strengthened. "What reason?" Her green eyes met his, and she said softly, "We're from different Clans. This is against the warrior code. We aren't supposed to meet apart from Gatherings."

Tigerpaw looked at his paws. "I'm sorry. I really am. You didn't want to break the warrior code, and I made you. But you're the only one I can talk to. My sisters, Mistkit and Nightkit, died when we were only a moon old, and my father..." His amber eyes turned brittle as he broke off. Russetpaw was curious, but she wouldn't press him if he didn't want to tell. He must have interpreted the look in her eyes, though, because he continued. "My father was Pinestar, leader of ThunderClan before Sunstar. He left the Clan to become a kittypet!" He spat the last word with disgust. "Kitty-pets aren't that bad, Tigerpaw. He glared at her, fire in his eyes. "Yes, they are! They're soft, depending on Twolegs for their every meal, and they're fat and lazy." She calmly replied, "Have you ever thought that perhaps they know no other life? Pinestar may not have been destined to be a Clan cat. Don't judge things for what they are not." Fire still blazed in his eyes, but he said smoothly, "Yes, perhaps it is possible." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't lie, you don't mean that." He shrugged.

"But really, you are the only cat I can talk to, Russetpaw. My mentor is a bloodthirsty, fox-hearted fool, and my mother would never understand. I'm the only apprentice, and I never have time to play with Whitekit. I'm all alone in my Clan." Her gaze softened, but her words were cold. "We can talk at gatherings, but I will not break the Warrior Code for anyone. I will be leader of my Clan one day, and I'll get there by loyalty and devotion to my Clan. I'm sorry, Tigerpaw, but if you show up in my camp again, I will fight you. I don't want to, but I will." She sped off through the freezing marsh, back to her camp, not looking back.

* * *

Russetpaw groggily lifted her head. The den was bright with shafts of light from the holes in the den roof. It was nearly sunhigh! She scrambled out of her nest, accidentally stepping on Oakpaw on her way out. Hollyflower was eating some fresh-kill, and the ginger apprentice's tail drooped. Her mentor had probably been waiting for her since dawn! "Hollyflower, I-" the gray and white she-cat cut her off. "It was your first Gathering; you were bound to be tired." She nodded mutely, not revealing all that she had done the previous night. "I hope you're up now, though, because we're doing battle training with Foxpaw and Raggedstar. You'd best show him that I'm not a bad mentor!" she saod. but she was smiling. Russetpaw swallowed nervously, but gobbled down a small mouse from the fresh-kill pile before setting off for the dry place that apprentices practiced fighting with Hollyflower.

They walked quickly to the training place, and quite unexpectedly, Hollyfower whipped around and pinned Russetpaw down. "What are you going to do now? Claws sheathed. Use your instincts." her mentor said. Raggedstar and Foxpaw watched curiously. Hollyflower was bigger than her, but perhaps not as quick. She batted at Hollyflower's stomach hard, knocking the breath out of her. She quickly snaked out of her grip and tackled her. After a moment of triumph, she got off. Hollyflower narrowed her eyes and turned to Raggedstar. "Do you think we can make a decent fighter out of her? It'll be hard, but..." Raggedstar looked Russetpaw over with a critical eyes that made her blush furiously and considered, "Well...I suppose it's possible." It wasn't until Foxpaw let out a snort that she realized they were teasing her. She scowled and sat on her paws.

"I'll take her on!" growled Foxpaw playfully and sprinted at her sister. Acting quickly, she dodged and saw with a gleam of satisfaction that she hadn't changed Foxpaw kicked back her hind legs, catching her sister in the chest, throwing her backward. Russetpaw slammed into the ground, but picked herself up quickly and sank her teeth into Foxpaw's scruff, shaking her violently. The bright ginger she-cat twisted in mid-air and sliced her claws down Russetpaw's face. With a rush of anger, Russetpaw thought, _She's supposed to keep her claws sheathed! _She tackled the she-cat into the dirt and reared up on her hind legs before crashing down onto her.

Russetpaw darted away, leaving her sister breathless, and tried to blink away the blood that was trickling into her eyes. That scratches stung fiercely, but she kept her face a calm mask...A mask covered in blood, that is. Foxpaw got to her feet and looked in astonishment at Russetpaw. "Oh StarClan! I hurt you! I'm sorry, I was just so..." The darker ginger she-cat walked over to Foxpaw, whose tail drooped sadly, and licked her shoulder. "I know you didn't mean to. I'm not mad." Hollyflower, on the other paw, was. She glared at Foxpaw. "She'll have a scar forever now!" Russetpaw bristled and stood in front of her sister. "I'm fine! She didn't mean to do it, and scars aren't going to make me any different, except in appearance." Raggedstar spoke smoothly. "Foxpaw, you must try harder to focus during battle, and remember who you're fighting and why. Hollyflower, take Russetpaw back to camp so Yellowfang can take a look at her." Russetpaw let out a low growl. "I want to keep fighting. And anyway, Runnningnose is the medicine cat." Hollyflower slapped her tail on Russetpaw's mouth and glared at her. "Are. You. Crazy? Raggedstar is ShadowClan _leader_! Shut up and get moving!" She said so only Russetpaw could hear, then shuffled her along.

* * *

Back in camp, Russetpaw fumed in the medicine den, muttering angrily as Littlepaw treated her scratches. "I was fine, I could've kept fighting all day! Now I've missed battle practice, and Foxpaw's going to be better than me..." Littlepaw rolled his eyes, but asked her curiously, "What do you like about fighting so much that you'd rather stay and practice it with dirt and bugs getting into your wounds than come back here and wait for them to heal? I'm sorry, I just don't understand it." Russetpaw thought for a moment. "It's not so much fighting itself that I want to do, it's learning how I can keep my Clan safe. Or fed. If we'd been hunting, I would have felt just the same. But Littlepaw, why did you become a medicine cat? I don't mean to offend, but it just seems like you'd be missing out on the exciting parts of Clan life."

A slow smile lit the small tom's face. "I think you know the story of how me and Blackfoot were brought here, right?" This struck Russetpaw. What did he mean, brought here? She shook her head. Slightly surprised, he asked, "Really? Well, let me tell you. When Cedarstar was coming back from the Moonstone after he'd gotten his name and nine lives, he passed through FourTrees, because it was unsafe to go the quick way near Carrionplace; too many rats. And as he was passing through, he found us, abandoned, by one of the Great Oaks." A glimmer of sadness showed in his eyes, "We would have died if Cedarstar hadn't brought us back to ShadowClan. Poolcloud nursed us and mothered us, but I still think of Cedarstar as my father." Russetpaw remembered when Hollyflower had said that Cedarstar "brought" them to ShadowClan... Now she understood.

"Anyway, I was never a real good fighter, but somethign about healing..it drew me in. I spent a lot of time in Runningnose's den, despite how grumpy he can be. And to think, I could finally find out who my real parents were, from StarClan. Surely they would know. But mostly, I became a medicine cat for the same reason you're becoming a warrior; to serve my Clan as best I can." he concluded, but his gaze had darkened. "So, did you find out who your parents are? Were? Who are they?" she sounded like a curious kit, but she wanted to know so she could rip their fur off. How could they leave two kits to die, especially two talented toms like Littlepaw and Blackfoot? "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Russetpaw. One day you'll know." That made her even more curious, but she just shrugged, knowing not to push it.

"There! Now I expect you'll want to take those cobwebs off early to show some scar, but the absolute earliest is by tomorrow morning. though you should probably leave them on for two suns, maybe a little more." She grinned. "And lose my first battle scar? You know me too well for that, Littlepaw. But I'll leave it them on until sunhigh tomorrow. Maybe even moonrise, if you're lucky." She winked, glad to have him as her friend. Yellowfang came into the den, her squashed-face glowering at Russetpaw. "You're all patched up, aren't you? Now shoo, you're crowding up the den!" Russetpaw blinked, and looked around the large, mostly empty den, but turned to leave anyway. As she padded out of the den, she heard Littlepaw bickering with her, "As your fellow medicine cat, I'm telling you that you should be a bit kinder to patients!" he pressed, and heard her snappily reply, "I'm older than you, Little_paw_, so don't go around telling me what to do!" Russetpaw barely caught Littlepaw's response, but it made her snicker all the same. "You might be an amazing _two seasons_ older than I am, Yellow_fang_, but I've been training to be a medicine cat moons before you even joined this Clan! So I'll tell you how to be a medicine cat as much as I want, since I obviously know how to do it better than you!"

Runningnose padded over to her from his spot in the shade, between the medicine den and where she was standing, and muttered, "Those two fight like kits over a bit of moss." She chuckled and he looked at her cobweb-covered face. "So what happened to you?" he asked brusquely. "Just some scratches." He tilted his head. "Was there a border skirmish?" he asked curiously; since the Thunderpath separated ShadowClan from the other three, border skirmishes were few and far between, unless it was ShadowClan starting them. Their territory was not always as prey-rich as the other Clans, and they sometimes had to use territory to feed themselves. But the other Clans always got it back when ShadowClan could depend on their own territory for food. "No, no. Foxpaw and I were battle training and she got a little carried away." she admitted. Runningnose nodded sagely. "Mind you, I might have clawed her right back, were I in the same situation."Russetpaw shook her head again. "Not if she was your sister." He shrugs and answers gruffly, "Never had brothers or sisters, but I think you have enough for the both of us, huh?" His voice seems tinged with sadness, so Russetpaw lies her tail on his shoulder for a brief moment before flicking it away again.

"Would you like to share some fresh-kill?" She asks hesitantly, but the usually surly tom reverts back to his usual cross self, and Russetpaw wonders which side of him is the act as he growls, "Already ate." And he shambled back to his den, where muffled insults could still be faintly heard as she picked through the pile, not really hungry.

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter was a bit lame; it's five in the morning and I haven't gotten to bed yet. I really need to revert to my diurnal self in the coming weeks, or going to school next year is really going to mess me up. Though given that I'm going to be a freshman, it will undoubtedly mess me up anyway, just in a different way. xD R & R guys. **


	6. Blackfoot

A/N: Hello! I recently discovered that one of the Erins said that there were far more cats in the other three Clans than were listed in the allegiances, so there will be non-canon charries from here on out. Just to warn you :) Oh, and I just found out that Nightpelt/star mentored Dawncloud in the series, but in my fic Dawn's his mom, so oh well xP Thanks for pointing that out, anon.

Russetpaw stretched her legs by the fresh-kill pile, quickly grooming her pelt. She quickly buried the bones of the scrawny lizard that she had just devoured, and then looked around, wondering what to do. She wasn't supposed to leave camp, but there was lots of time until nightfall. Her tail twitched irritably. She felt annoyed by the cobwebs on her face, which partially blocked her vision, but more peeved because she couldn't be out with her sister, learning how to fight. She sighed lightly, wondering what to do until she could retire to the den. She heard a squeal of excitement from the nursery, and decided to visit Cloudkit and Whitekit, as well as Dawncloud's new litter.

She stepped into the nursery somewhat hesitantly; were the queens busy? Cloudkit and Whitekit were tussling in a poofy white ball of fur, and as Poolcloud gave them a long-suffering glance accompanied with an eye roll, Russetpaw just managed to keep from laughing. Two kits suckled at Dawncloud's belly, while the other two scrambled around the den happily. The two kits that were curled up by their mother were the same color as the warm peaty earth beneath them. Their eyes were not yet open, and the smaller kit had a rather short tail and slightly darker tabby stripes. She noted that while those kits looked very much like their mother, the other two resembled no cat in ShadowClan. She shrugged it off; perhaps they were taking after Poolcloud, their mother's mother. After all, she, Foxpaw, and Rowanpaw all looked like Littlebird, their grandmother. Suddenly, needle-sharp claws sank into her tail, and Russetpaw jumped in surprise.

A tiny black and white she-kit was latched onto her tail with minuscule claws. She tried to bite her tail, but her mouth wasn't big enough to get around it. She kept trying in vain to clamp down on Russetpaw's tail, but her jaws were just too little. Shaking with silent laughter, she swept her tail back and forth for the kits' enjoyment. She clung on, eyes wide, and squealed with delight. Dawncloud rolled her eyes as she caught sight of her kit playing. "Get off Russetpaw's tail, Brightkit." She turned her head towards the dark ginger apprentice and meowed apologetically, "Sorry, Russetpaw. They've not learned their manners yet. What happened to you, though?" she gestured with her tail at the cobwebs on Russetpaw's face. She shrugged and murmured, "Accident. I'm fine. How are you and the kits?" The tabby queen narrowed her eyes in concern anyway and "I'm still a bit tired, but other than that I'm fine. As for the kits...Well, Clawkit and Stumpykit are always hungry, and Nightkit and Brightkit are getting into all kinds of shenanigans even though they haven't left the nursery yet."

Nightkit, who she presumed was the all-black tom that had been scuffling with Brightkit when she came into the den, bounded up to her and said, "What's it like being an apprentice? Can you teach us some battle moves? What about hunting? Were you in a real battle and got hurt and that's why you've got white strings on your face?" Whiskers twitching with amusement at the kit's curiosity, she looked at Dawncloud and asked, "I could take these two off your paws for a while; I'm confined to camp for the night, so my scratches can heal. I'll keep them in camp, I promise." The small she-cat's ear pricked hopefully and she gave Russetpaw a warm smile. "That would be great. Perhaps you could bring Cloudkit and Whitekit, too. I know they're giving you loads of trouble, Poolcloud, and Stumpykit and Clawkit need to sleep. That will be next to impossible with those kits making the den fall down around our ears!" she joked, gesturing at all four. Russetpaw dipped her head and herded the kits outside.

Cloudkit pricked his ears happily. "I'll be an apprentice soon, won't I Russetpaw?" he bragged. She twitched her whiskers, "Yes. In a couple moons you and Whitekit will be apprenticed." Nightkit looked on jealously. "What about us?" The young she-cat mewed, "Not for a while. Around the same time I become a warrior." Excitement coursed through her, and Brightkit voiced her thoughts as she said, "I can't wait to be a warrior!" Nightkit merely mewed, "If you're a warrior when we get apprenticed, I hope you're my mentor." a blush appeared in both of their cheeks as they met gazes. Whitekit broke the awkward silence by chirping, "Show us a battle move, Russetpaw!"

"Okay, watch carefully now. Cloudkit, come here a moment." She paused, waiting for the long-furred tom to stand in front of her. His pale blue eyes glowing, he grinned and sunk into a playful crouch. "When I say go, Cloudkit, try to tackle me. But remember, I'm not just going to stand there and let you do it!" Russetpaw wondered briefly if this was what training an apprentice was like, and when she would train her own. "Go!" she said, tail still as a rock, though she felt like lashing it back and forth. Cloudkit charged at her, and she leaped out of the way, fast as lightning, and leaped on his back. He bucked her off and tried to tackle her again, but she dove underneath him and knocked him off his paws. She jumped up, stood over him, and bit his scruff, but not hard enough to break the skin. "Gotcha!" she purred before letting him up.

Cloudkit licked his fur and said without resentment, "I bet Whitekit wouldn't have beaten me as easily." He smiled slowly, meeting his sister's dark blue eyes with challenge flashing in them. Whitekit rocketed forward and tackled him into the ground. As they grappled, Nightkit asked, "Can I try what Cloudkit did?" Russetpaw nodded and the black-furred tom padded forward eagerly. Russetpaw looked down at him and realized he was a large kit, but very small compared to him. He flew at her with over-sized paws, but when she jumped to the side, he followed, and scrabbled onto her back. She tried to buck him off like Cloudkit had done to her, but he held on with his claws. She started to roll, but he freed himself, landing beside her exposed throat, and reared back on his hind legs. Before Russetpaw could dodge, he had crashed down on her neck and shoulders, his jaws poised in position. If this had been a real fight, he could bite down and end her life, but he just backed up and grinned.

This kit was some fighter! He was licking his paw proudly, eyes shut, and Russetpaw exchanged an amused glance with Brightkit before padding silently over and pushing him into the mud with her paw. He splashed the muddy water over his den-mates, but Russetpaw had dodged out of the way. Her eyes gleamed with amusement as he got to his paws, soaked with mud. Instead of being upset, he stuck his tongue out at her and started cleaning his fluffy fur. Feeling a bit bad, she went over to help him. Just as she was about clean his soft fur, he opened his eyes and rammed into her, making her fall into the same puddle. "Hey!" Cloudkit said indignantly as more mud spattered his white pelt, but Russetpaw didn't notice. She was purring and laughing while grooming the sticky earth from her dark ginger fur. She and Nightkit were sharing tongues, and so were Cloudkit, Brightkit, and Whitekit, when Foxpaw, Hollyflower, and Raggedstar came into camp.

Foxpaw bounded over to her and looked at the cobwebs swathed over Russetpaw's face guiltily. "I'm really sorry, Russetpaw." she said with a note of shame in her voice. "I'm fine, really." Changing the subject she gave Nightkit a friendly lick and asked, "Have you met Nightkit?" Foxpaw shook her head, but a gleam appeared in her eyes. "Hello, Nightkit. I'm Foxpaw!" He smiled at her shyly, but then Cloudkit bounded over and said, "Hey, Foxpaw. Russetpaw showed us battle moves today!" The ginger she-cat purred, "That's great, Cloudkit." A voice called from the nursery, "Kits! Come back to the nursery, it's nearly time to sleep. And bring some fresh-kill, Whitekit and Cloudkit, for yourselves and us!" Poolcloud called, and Whitekit rolled her eyes. Nightkit gave Russetpaw a swift lick before dashing off to the nursery, Brightkit at his side. He glanced back and smiled at her as he reached the den entrance, and she smiled back warmly. He was fierce and brave, but had a sweet side, too. He was a good fighter, and cunning. It would be great to have him as an apprentice when the time came.

Foxpaw nudged her shoulder and asked, "Want to grab something to eat before we go to the den? I'm starving!" Russetpaw padded over to the fresh-kill pile beside her sister and sat down. "I already ate, but I'll sit with you." Foxpaw nodded, dragged a frog out of the pile, and started gulping it down. She finished quickly and started grooming her fur. "Russetpaw?" she asked curiously, but with a tinge of embarrassment, "What do you think the best pelt color on a tom is?" After considering for a moment, she replied, "Dark brown tabby. Why?" Foxpaw's whiskers twitched. "Have a crush on Stumpykit, do you?" Russetpaw rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. "No I don't. Seriously though, why do you ask?" Curiosity was flaming in her at Foxpaw's strange question. "No reason. Just wanted to know. I though you might say black, after today." she grinned mischeviously. It took her a moment to realize she meant her sharing tongues with Nightkit. _How ridiculous,_ Russetpaw thought, _it's not like that at all. I want him to be my apprentice, not my mate! _Feeling a bit awkward, she asked, "What do you think's the best?" Foxpaw said without hesitating, "White." then blushed as she realized she'd given herself away. "Not that-" Russetpaw cut her off. "Don't bother, I know you like Cloudkit." Foxpaw shrugged and stared at her paws, embarrassed.

With a large yawn, Foxpaw nodded towards the apprentice's den, and the two ginger she-cats, one dark, one light, padded to the den and settled in their nests.

* * *

Russetpaw woke with a start, and realized it was barely dawn. She wasn't tired at all, so she padded out of the den. The dawn patrol had gathered sleepily in the middle of camp. Lizardfang was leading it, with Featherstorm and Blackfoot with her. Their apprentices, Cedarpaw and Tallpaw, were picking through the fresh-kill pile with tired yawns. She bounded over to the deputy and asked timidly, "Can I join the dawn patrol? I'm not tired, and since Hollyflower had a late night, she probably won't be up for a while." Lizardfang nodded, his eyes still bleary. She looked around, and saw Blackfoot glaring at her. "Why are _you_ coming along?" he snapped. Russetpaw narrowed her eyes and resented that she had to look up to meet his gaze. "I'm coming along because I can. Who put thistles in your bedding, anyway?" The huge warrior unsheathed his claws, sinking them deep into the soft ground, and the fur along his spine lifted. "have a bit of respect, Russet_paw_, for I, unlike you, am a warrior." he said nastily. Refusing to be belittled, she said haughtily, "And I, unlike you, am not a particularly smelly bit of fox-dung." She turned to leave, but Blackfoot gave a snort of laughter, and she whipped around.

Blackfoot was looking at her appreciatively. "I like you. You remind me of me when I was young and stupid." Russetpaw said loftily, "Oh don't worry Blackfoot; you still are young and stupid." Anger flashed in the tom's eyes and he hissed, "Do you really want to fight with me, Russetkit?" He called her by her kit name, but she didn't go mad with anger like he expected her to, and instead sank into a fighting stance and said smoothly, "If your claws are as dull as your wits, I think I can take you, Blackkit." she goaded him on, claws itching for a fight. He gave a snarl of fury and charged at her. She jumped neatly out of the way and laughed as he couldn't stop or change direction, his bulk working against him. He leaped for her again -he was so fast!- and she barely got away, but he managed to rake his claws down her foreleg. She returned his snarl and slice her claws across his side viscously. He hissed and snapped her tail into his mouth; unfortunately his jaws were big enough to get around it, unlike Brightkit's had been.

Featherstorm shoved her way between the two fighting cats and hissed, "Would both of you quit it? Blackfoot, as your senior warrior, I order you to send Tallpaw with Lizardfang for the dawn patrol. Cedarpaw, Russetpaw and I will go with them. Meanwhile, you will go to the medicine cat's den at once!" Blackfoot whined, "Why doesn't Russetpaw have to go to Runningnose?" Featherstorm's eyes blazed and she said cuttingly, "Because she wasn't dumb enough to let you get your claws down _her_ side! Now go to your brother's den before I get Raggedstar to send you there!" She whipped around and snapped, "Come on, Russetpaw!" before bounding over to Lizardfang, Cedarpaw and Tallpaw joining her. Lizardfang stretched slowly and Russetpaw took the moment to lick her injured leg and stop the bleeding. Tallpaw saw and asked concernedly, "Don't you need the medicine den for that?" Russetpaw shook her head and said incredulously, "And spend more time with that great lump of fur?" Then she remembered that Blackfoot was Tallpaw's mentor and apologized, "Sorry, Tallpaw. He has something against me though, and I don't know what it is." Her sister pressed her fur against Russetpaw's. "Me neither." she said, looking mystified.

A yowl from the camp entrance signaled for the dawn patrol to start, and the two she-cats followed the deputy, Featherstorm, and Cedarpaw out into the territory. Near the Carrionplace, Lizardfang spotted a frog sitting obliviously on a log; he motioned with his tail for Russetpaw to catch it. She swallowed nervously, but stalked silently towards it. Her tail twitched of it's own accord when she was only a tail-length from her prey, and it started to leap away. russetpaw dove for it but her claws sank into the rotting bark of the log instead of the frog. Cursing, she went back to the patrol, tail drooping. "Sorry, Lizardfang." She felt wretched for not catching it; the chill of leaf-fall hung in the air, they needed to stock up on prey, and if Lizardfang had hunted it instead of letting her, she felt sure that he would have caught it. The brown tabby rested his tail on her shoulder. "It's alright, Russetpaw. One frog won't change the fate of our Clan."

His words echoed in her ears as the patrol continued. If Russetpaw ever wanted to be deputy like the brave warrior, she would have to better than she was. She'd gotten into a fight with a warrior of the same Clan, missed a frog, and met with a ThunderClan cat all in the space of a few days. She'd also gotten herself injured and let the medicine cats use their precious herbs on her, when they could be saving them for a cat who needed them more than she did. She would have to fight harder, hunt more, and help out the Clan if she was to become a warrior; let alone deputy. _I will_, she promised herself. She padded with the patrol with her head held high, until it was time to return to camp.

She pushed into the dark hollow behind Featherstorm, heading for the warriors den, before she was intercepted by none other than Nightkit. She'd been on her way to fetch Hollyflower to ask if she could go hunting, but she paused to see what the young tom had to say. "I heard you fought with Blackfoot this morning. His yowling woke me up." Nightkit said, whiskrs twitching. As if to prove him right, there was a frustrated yowl from the medicine cat's den. "That hurts, Littlepaw!" The warrior's brother came back with, "Oh shut up and stop whining Blackfoot! You're complain more than Russetpaw did, and her scratches were worse." Blackfoot hissed, "Don't talk to me about her! I'll shred your ears Littlepaw, I swear it!" He simply meowed in return, "You wouldn't shred my ears, not your brother and a medicine cat apprentice. Now shut your face." This time, the warrior listened.

Nightkit smiled up at her, "You must have been really brave to fight with a warrior, and especially Blackfoot. He's huge!" Russetpaw flicked her ears uncomfortably at his praise. "He was only made a warrior a while ago. Besides, he might be big, but he's awfully stupid." Nightkit laughed, then mewed his good-byes as Hollyflower came over. Russetpaw's mentor said, "Are you up for hunting, Russetpaw?" The dark ginger she-cat dipped her head, and they left camp.

**A/N: Okay, so the next chapter might skip a good chunk of moons, or it might not. But now I'm facing a dilemma; should I make Nightkit Russetpaw's apprentice when she becomes a warrior? They'll definitely be close buddies, but I dunno if they should have a mentor-apprentice relationship. Then again... So tell me: Should I? And the reason Blackfoot doesn't like Russetpaw will become evident soon enough if you haven't guessed already. R & R! **


	7. Owl

**A/N: Okay, reviews are in for the last chapter and the question I asked in my previous author's note is answered :) This is about five moons after the last chapter, and throughout those moons, WindClan has been pressing on the ShadowClan border and Raggedstar is very displeased. Also, Featherstorm had these kits: Lizardkit (female) Snakekit (male) and Brownkit (male) and Shadekit -not canon- (female) with Blackfoot. Raggedstar said that all she-cats should have kits, since ShadowClan was so much smaller than the other clans. Also, Crowtail is very close to having kits (she'll have them in the chapter) and they are Runningnose's! -Gasp-. I've never seen why male meddy cats can't have kits, and ShadowClan really is very, very small. Also, after this chapter I will do a second allegiances, because stuff is changing so much :/ As for other news... Tigerpaw and Russetpaw are still Gathering-buddies but he hasn't tried to meet secretly with Russetpaw; he knows that she'll kick his furry butt! Other than that...Umm... Oakpaw says "Hi!" Now he's a touchy fellow, so tell him hello back, guys! **

Russetpaw stretched in the apprentice's den, half-excited, half-wary. WindClan had been pressing on the borders near Carrionplace for the last few moons, and the past suns, they had left markers more than every tail-length of the border. She shivered with anxiety; it was still more than a moon till newleaf, so the warriors said, and they depended on the Carrionplace for food during the harsh moons; they had a smaller, more prey-poor territory than the other Clans, which was part of the reason that their Clan was smaller. But in the past seasons, ShadowClan had shrunk and shrunk until they were very vulnerable to attack, so Raggedstar had decreed that all she-cats should have kits, even if the father was not their mate, and . Russetpaw's own mother, Crowtail, was soon to have Runningnose's kits. This, along with Featherstorm's pregnancy, had delayed Cedarpaw and Cloudpaw's (who had been apprenticed to Crowtail three moons ago) training, so Hollyflower, Lizardfang, and Archeye had all been helping to train them.

Padding put of the den, she nearly tread on Whitepaw's tail. Glancing out to see Littlebird pacing near the nursery, she prodded Whitepaw's side. "Whitepaw! Littlebird's waiting for you, I think." The long-furred she-cat gazed at her tiredly with two bright blue eyes, but got to her paws and padded out to her mentor. Russetpaw followed and caught Hollyflower's eye. The gray and white warrior trotted over, and her apprentice asked, "So. What are we doing today?"

Her mentor's gaze clouded. "Raggedstar's getting very edgy about WindClan. He's ordered a huge patrol of us to go and mark the border as closely as they have. It's you and me, Raggedstar and Foxpaw, Littlebird and Whitepaw, Wetfoot and Oakpaw, and Archeye." Russetpaw's eyes widened. Even if it was a battle patrol, it was still large! Her mentor frowned and added, "Once our patrol leaves, he told Lizardfang, Blackfoot, Tallpaw, Jaggedtooth, Rowanpaw, Cedarpaw, Cloudpaw, and Poolcloud all to guad the camp. No cat is supposed to be out and about while we're gone. It's obvious he's expecting a battle. Our patrol goes out halfway between sunhigh and sundown. Until then, he says, every cat is supposed to hunt besides the medicine cats, who are supposed to be gathering strengthening herbs." It sure did sound like Raggedstar was sure there was going to be a battle.

"Well, I guess we'd best go hunting then, right, Hollyflower?" she inquired, and the warrior nodded. "We'll take Cloudpaw, too. Will you fetch him? I think he's in the nursery." Russetpaw dipped her head and walked quickly to the nursery. Cloudpaw was indeed in there, sharing a rat with Dawncloud, his older sister. Brightkit kept sneaking up and taking small mouthfuls sneakily without Cloudpaw or her mother noticing. Just as she was about to bite off another chunk, leaning very far forward, neck outstretched, she spotted Russetpaw in the entrance and snapped her jaws shut and sat on her paws with an innocent grin. Russetpaw winked at her, green eyes gleaming, before clearing her throat and calling, "Cloudpaw?" The white apprentice turned with a mouth full of rat and cocked his head questioningly. "You're to go with me and Hollyflower out hunting, once you're finished eating. He nodded, ripped off a large hunk of rat, and wolfed it down. "Ready!" he said with his jaws still half-full.

The two apprentices followed Hollyflower out of camp, another patrol of hunters just behind them. Outside of the camp, which was warmed by so many cats' bodies, the marsh was freezing. a thin layer of snow veiled the ground, and the normally damp ground was stiff with ice. Russetpaw realized how her dark ginger pelt stood out against the icy landscape, while Cloudpaw and Hollyflower's fur blended well. Hollyflower had obviously noticed the same thing, because she said, "Cloudpaw and I will hunt near Carrionplace, but Russetpaw, with your fur you might be better off near the Burnt Sycamore, where there isn't as much snow." With a polite nod, the hunting patrol split up, and Russetpaw headed for the twisted tree she could see in the distance.

It was nearing sunhigh, and hunting was hopeless by the old tree; Russetpaw had only caught a scrawny vole and a thrush that looked like it was all feathers and bone. She saw with a glimmer of hope that there was one tiny green bud on the sycamore as she perched in it's bare branches. She had scrambled up the tree to hide in a deep hollow where owls normally lived. It was strangely vacant (given that it was day-time and owls hunted at night) but when birds landed on the branches of the tree, she could prowl along the branch to catch them; this was how she had gotten the thrush. Suddenly, she heard a loud fluttering of wings from outside the hollow. Russetpaw tensed against the back of the dark hollow; these wings must below to a much larger bird than the thrush she'd caught, for the wing-beats were monumentally louder.

Two bright orange eyes appeared, piercing and bright, but they were not cats' eyes. It was the owl! There was a mouse, very fat for leaf-bare, clutched in a curved beak. Russetpaw gulped silently as she glanced down and saw wickedly sharp talons on both of the owl's feet. One foot was clutched to the rim of the hollow, but the other had another mouse in it, though this was even scrawnier than Russetpaw's own catch. The owl seemed to just notice that there was something very alive in its hollow, and Russetpaw instinctively flung herself at the enormous bird; the gray-feathered creature was easily bigger than her!

It managed to flutter inside the hollow over to two bright white eggs that sat in a pile of sticks and grass. It dropped the mouse from its beak and gave a violent screech that rang in the apprentice's ears. There was no way Russetpaw could leave her prey here and go back to camp empty-pawed! Eyes narrowing in determination, she stalked toward the owl. As the cat neared, the bird's leg shot out, and she barely dodged the dangerous talons. _Now or never_, Russetpaw thought, and lunged at the owl. She latched onto its chest and sank her teeth into the owl's neck. But the thing was far from finished. despite the blood leaking from its jugular, it raked a talon down Russetpaw's shoulder. She squeaked in pain and writhed around so that her back legs were on its wings, and her front claws dug into the space between the appendages.

But the owl simply brought its wings back, and flapped them so violently that Russetpaw was flung to the ground. It cuffed her over the head with one huge wing and she crashed to the ground, dazed. She panted with exhaustion and weakly struggled as the owl turned her onto her stomach with a set of talons. It held her down with its foot, the back talons digging into her stomach, and the front resting on her breastbone. _Who is the prey here?_ She wondered. Seeing the dark feathers around two bright amber eyes as the owl's face loomed above her, she was reminded of a certain cat, and the thought gave her strength.

She went totally limp, thinking fast, then brought all four of her legs together, claws outstretched, and raked all sets on the leg that held her down. The owl recoiled with a sharp screech, and she once more dove for its neck. This time, she kept the owl's talons busy by continually raking her back claws downward while tearing at its throat with her teeth, clinging on with just her front paws. After was seemed like an eternity, the light died from its eyes and it was dead. Triumph glowed in her heart. What other apprentice could say that they had killed an owl? Especially one that was twice their size? She wanted to crow her victory out loud, but she knew that there was another owl that lived here, the mother of those eggs, and she didn't think she could fight another one, especially not a mother, since she knew how fierce queens were about protecting their kits, and owls would be just the same.

She looked out the hollow and saw with a jolt that it was past sunhigh! She had to get her kills back to camp before the patrol left without her. She couldn't possibly make it down the tree with prey in her jaws, so she shoved the owl out of the hollow entrance with some difficulty. She also dropped down the two mice the owl had caught and her thrush. Her vole was already covered in snow at the base of the tree. She scrambled down the trunk, aching from her fight. She stared at the array of prey with a flash of pride; the owl would feed four, maybe five warriors by itself in greenleaf. Since it was leaf-bare, and the cats were used to much smaller portions, at least seven could be well-fed tonight. Not to mention that it had caught two mice for her, one of them shockingly plump. But how to get all of the food back to camp? Inspiration stuck, and she pried open the owls bloodied talons. She stuffed the thrush and the fat mouse in one foot, and the other mouse and her vole in the other foot.

She grabbed hold of the owl and started dragging it in the general direction of camp. It was very, very heavy and she had to pause several times. The deep scratch on her shoulder stung, and her teeth ached with the difficulty of dragging her heavy load. Unfortunately, every cat had already returned to camp to get ready for the patrol, so no one could help her with her burden. She reached the entrance to camp when she heard a high-pitched wail that Russetpaw recognized as Crowtail's. Her heart dropped to her paws and she prayed desperately, Please, let her be having kits and not be injured! She quickened her step and entered the camp tail-first, since she couldn't possibly push her owl in front of her.

As she dragged the prey to the fresh-kill pile, which consisted of a thin rat and a skinny frog, she felt eyes on her from all around camp. There was silence for a moment, then yowls of surprise. Foxpaw dashed over to her and exclaimed, "How in StarClan did you find a dead owl?" Russetpaw had a mouth full of owl feathers, so she just finished dragging it to a spot next to the pile. She still did not answer as she pried the two mice, thrush, and vole from it's claws and put them on top of the rat and lizard. She swiped her tongue around her jaws, sat down, and tucked her tail over her paws neatly before saying, "I didn't find a dead owl, Foxpaw."

Her sister tilited her head sideways, not comprehending. "I killed an owl." Foxpaw gasped, taking in the sheer size of the bird, and the bloody claws. "What! But...how!" the bright ginger she-cat asked, astonished. "I was in its hollow, waiting for birds to land on the branches, so I could catch them," she paused, nodding at the thrush, "when the owl flew in. There were eggs and it was defending them, so I attacked it." Russetpaw was very aware that most of the Clan was gathering around to listen. "It didn't go down without a fight though!" she added, and licked the wound on her shoulder. She was also bleeding from her chest, but the cut wasn't half as deep as the slash on her shoulder.

Raggedstar was among the cats gathered, and he meowed, "You have done excellently in catching this owl, it will feed half the Clan! And you got four more bits of prey as well!" His eyes were glowing with warmth, and Russetpaw flushed. "The owl caught the mice and brought them into the hollow, I didn't catch them." she told him, but he didn't look disappointed. "No matter. I would be impressed with your catch in greenleaf, but for leaf-bare... You have done us proud. All of ShadowClan." he dipped his head low to the ground in a sign of respect, then called, "Russetpaw! Russetpaw!" the warriors around also called her name, and she was redder than her fur by the time the calls died down.

The ShadowClan leader turned and called, "Runningnose! Patch up Russetpaw, our patrol leaves soon." The medicine cat nodded and fetched some herbs from his den, then whisked over to her. He seemed edgy and jumpy as he treated her. "What's with you, Runningnose?" she asked curiously. He gave her a "duh" look and said, "My kits are being born, Russetpaw!" A jolt ran through the apprentice. In the excitement of presenting her owl, she had completely forgotten. Littlepaw emerged from the nursery a few fox-lengths away and called, "Runningnose! Crowtail's fine, and she has three healthy kits! Three toms and two she-cats."

The tom jumped to his paws and dashed to the nursery, Russetpaw hard on his tail. Crowtail was curled around three tiny kits. The smallest was a somewhat darker version of Runningnose, with light gray and black patches, and a very long tail. She was cuddled between a white tom with gray speckles and a black tom with gray and white speckles and ultra-black stripes. There was an all gray she-cat and a gray and white tom that were huddled together a little away from the other three. Crowtail looked worn-out but happy as she nuzzled her kits. "Runningnose, I want to name this one Skykit." Crowtail said simply and nodded at the large gray and white tom. With a small smile, the medicine cat nodded, but his attention was mostly transfixed on his kits. He waved his tail at the all gray she-cat and meowed in a raspy voice that was choked with emotion, "Duskkit."

Just then, the small she-cat with the long tail opened her eyes. They were a very bright green, a brighter green than Russetpaw had seen in the eyes of a cat before. As if by some unheard signal, all of the kits started to open their eyes, all except Skykit. The kits' parents looked into each other's eyes, and Russetpaw couldn't figure out what was in their eyes. It wasn't the same look they gave their kits, but something similar. Had her mother found new love with the Clan medicine cat? Crowtail seemed to notice that Russetpaw was present. "Russetpaw. Will you name one of the kits?" She was a little taken aback, but she knew better than to refuse the offer. She studied the kits, and saw that the black one with speckles was strikingly familiar. He looked just like the owl! His bright amber eyes were even the same shade as the owl's had been. She flicked her tail and suggested, "Owlkit?" Runningnose's eyes flickered and he smiled.

"Owlkit is perfect. He really does look a lot like your catch." Crowtail looked at them questioningly and Runningnose told her about the owl. She smiled proudly at her daughter before studying the kits again. "I think Vinekit, for this little one." she nodded at the small she-cat with green eyes. The medicine cat nodded and meowed, "How about Frogkit, for his eyes?" he looked at the gray speckled white tom, who had dark green eyes. Crowtail smiled. "Frogkit, Vinekit, Owlkit, Duskkit, and Skykit. They're perfect." Her mother looked exhausted as she laid her head down on her paws, and Russetpaw took the hint and left the den.

Waiting for her just outside was Nightkit. She remembered how thinking of him while fighting the owl had saved her life, and she purred when he sat next to her. "You made quite a catch," he murmured, and she purred even harder. He was as big as her now, and she leaned against him, enjoying the comfort of the moment. Raggedstar called, "It's time for the patrol to leave!" from the center of the clearing and Nighkit whispered, "Be careful." as she turned to leave. She looked him in his bright amber eyes and said, "I will."


	8. Fur

**A/N: Actually, second allegiances will be after this chapter, because in the last chapter, the patrol was supposed to leave already, but as I was writing I was like, hey, Russetpaw should fight an owl! And that ran on for a bit, so if I had had the patrol happen in the same chapter, it would have been like 6,000 words long! Anyway, this is a real chapter, and if you were wondering, that owl Russetpaw got was a Great Gray, and the daddy of those eggs. Also, Blackfoot plushie for Escaping Dreams! And now, chapter seven begins!**

The apprentice whisked away from Nightkit to join the warriors, and stood by her sister, Foxpaw. She cast a glance back toward her friend, and saw that his amber eyes burned with worry. She wanted to tell him that she would be fine, but she couldn't promise that. Not ever. Raggedstar led the patrol out of camp, and Foxpaw bounded up to join her mentor, so instead, Russetpaw dropped back by Whitepaw, who looked very excited. "My first real battle! And yours too, Russetpaw! Aren't you excited?" The ginger she-cat met the younger apprentice's gaze evenly. "StarClan willing, there won't be a battle. But no, I am not excited. I'm afraid." Whitepaw looked astonished, and was about to speak when Littlebird cut her off. "Spoken like a warrior, Russetpaw. You remind me of Cedarstar when he was young." she sighed.

Russetpaw couldn't bring herself to be proud that she'd been compared to her father, not when her little brothers and sisters were in the nursery, intensely vulnerable. She felt glad that Raggedstar had left such a strong patrol behind to protect the camp. She knew the warriors would give their lives to protect all of the kits. But there were so many to keep safe! She reeled them off in her head; Brownkit, Lizardkit, Snakekit, Owlkit, Skykit, Duskkit, Vinekit, Frogkit, Clawkit, Stumpykit, Brightkit, and, most important to her, Nightkit. Dawncloud's kits were hardly kits anymore, but she felt her heart pound with worry over them, one in particular.

Carrionplace came into view, and the patrol stepped up its pace. Whitepaw stumbled over a rock, and Littlebird helped her to her paws. They were lagging behind, so Russetpaw nudged the apprentice forward; she'd taken up the rear of the patrol with Hollyflower at her side. They reached the border, which went from the Carrionplace down to the Thunderpath. WindClan territory here was just a small strip between the ShadowClan border and neutral territory around Highstones. They had almost finished heavily marking the border, their scent mingling with WindClan stench, when a skinny tom appeared, an apprentice at his side. He paused to mark the border, then noticed the huge ShadowClan patrol only a tail-length away. He yowled in surprise. "What are you all doing there, trying to scare the crap out of me?" Raggedstar looked at him incredulously. "Did you just say-" The WindClan apprentice cut him off. "What's your name?" he asked cheerily.

The big tabby drew himself up and spat, "I am Raggedstar, leader of ShadowClan, and do NOT interrupt me again!" he thundered but still the apprentice, who looked to be little more than a kit squealed. "That's a funny name! I'm Berrypaw!" Russetpaw exchanged an amused look with Whitepaw. She whispered back, "WindClan cats are as mad as hares." Russetpaw stifled a chuckle and replied softly, "Maybe it's because they eat them!" She and Whitepaw lapsed into silent laughter. The WindClan warrior tasted the air, ignoring his mouse-brained apprentice, and then yowled loudly, seemingly at nothing. Russetpaw looked at Whitepaw bemusedly at the random cat, but her amusement died as WindClan warrior after warrior flooded out of the rabbit warrens, until their patrol was heavily outnumbered.

Raggedstar held his ground and said, "Heatherstar! What is the meaning of this?" The pinkish gray she-cat slid out from the ranks of warriors and smiled devilishly. "Meaning of what, Raggedstar? It was you who brought a battle patrol to our border." she had the voice of an apprentice, high-pitched and very... immature, so unlike Raggedstar's commanding hiss as he said, "This is no battle patrol. We are marking the border." Heatherstar smiled sweetly in a way that made Russetpaw nauseous. "Well then you can help us by marking along the new border, over there." She nodded at a space about ten fox-lengths from the real border, farther into ShadowClan territory. Her leader bristled and snarled, "WindClan will never have those lands. They belong to ShadowClan!" Beside her, Whitepaw flattened her ears, glaring at a huge WindClan tom, who met her gaze with the light of battle in his amber eyes. Russetpaw lowerd herself into a battle crouch and put one paw in front of the younger apprentice, claws unsheathed. She glared at the warrior and mouthed, "You're mine," acting a lot tougher than she felt.

He showed his teeth, and Russetpaw realized he looked exactly like Vinekit, only with amber eyes! He even had a long, long tail like her half-sister. She shivered, and realized she'd missed Heatherstar's reply. But she did hear Raggedstar yowl furiously, "SHADOWCLAN!" and she knew that the battle had begun. The long-tailed warrior was sprinting for Whitepaw, and Russetpaw bristled, jumping in front of her, but the warrior was headed off by Archeye, who tackled him into the dirt and started fighting with him. She looekd around frantically and saw Foxpaw, struggling with a WindClan she-cat twice her size. She ran for her sister and reached them in the blink of an eye. She raked her claws down the pale gold tabby's shoulder and she screeched angrily. Faced with both apprentices, she dashed off for an easier fight. "Coward!" Russetpaw shouted after her, but she was cut off by a terrible scream of pain.

Whitepaw's face had been brutally slashed by a reddish brown WindClan tom, and he was pinning her down, about to go in for the kill. "No!" Russetpaw said, terror pulsing through her paws for her friend. As she reached the tom, she rammed into him headlong, not waiting to think of a strategy. She pummeled him with powerful back paws, claws tearing into his belly fur, and crunched down on his foreleg, sinking her teeth in down to the bone. He yowled in pain, but he was an adept fighter and kept landing hard blows on Russetpaw. But she was driven by fear for Whitepaw, so she kept fighting even as exhaustion crept in. She scored her claws across his face strongly, and he turned tail to flee, but there was another WindClan cat waiting to take his place.

Russetpaw wanted wail with the unfairness of the fight, as this tom was nearly as big as Raggedstar, but she was ShadowClan; never to back down from a fight, and to use cunning and power to win a fight, not brute force, nimbleness, or speed. She would fight for every mouse-length of her territory. However, this fight was not her own, as Archeye saved Whitepaw once again by intervening, and with Littlebird at his side, they would easily beat the warrior. She turned to Whitepaw and saw that she was badly injured, one side of her face bleeding heavily. She saw Oakpaw make a WindClan she-cat run away, screeching, she called for her brother desperately. The small brown tom dashed over and his eyes widened in horror as he looked at Whitepaw's injuries. The she-cat lay on the ground, her breathing shallow, and her white fur stained red with her own blood.

"Get her out of here, Oakpaw. I can't do it." she told him. Her brother nodded and took Whitepaw's scruff delicately in his teeth. He dragged her away, but Russetpaw couldn't bear to watch, so she turned back to the fight. Foxpaw was slashing her claws at a large brown tom. Her sister had a few scratches, but she was far better off than her opponent. Raggedstar was grappling with the black and white warrior with the long tail and Hollyflower was locked in combat with Heatherstar. Wetfoot battled with Berrypaw's mentor. Berrypaw himself charged at Russetpaw. She nipped his tail and hissed, bristling to twice her size. That was enough for the young apprentice, and he tucked his tail between his legs and _scarpered_. The golden tabby she-cat, Dawnstripe, Russetpaw finally remembered, stalked up to her. Russetpaw hissed, "Thought you'd had enough earlier?" Eyes flashing, she hissed, "Not on my life!" Russetpaw narrowed her eyes and snarled, "So be it."

She dove for Dawnstripe, snarling before clamping her jaws down on the warrior's shoulder. The WindClan cat ripped away from Russetpaw as a yowl came from the center of the fighting, "WindClan! Retreat!" Russetpaw recognized Heatherstar's raspy voice and smiled triumphantly. She caught the long-tailed warrio's eye as he turned away from the battle and stuck out her tongue kittishly. She looked through the ranks of ShadowClan warriors, trying to find Foxpaw. But when she did, she wished she hadn't.

Foxpaw was standing over the brown tabby WindClan cat she'd seen her sister fighting with earlier. He was dead. Even from here, Russetpaw recognized Foxpaw's claw marks. One of her claws had a slight list to it, and every time Russetpaw glanced in a puddle at her face, she would see those claw marks. She padded over to Foxpaw as if it were a sister's green eyes were horrified as she first at the cat she had killed and then down to her bloodied claws. Russetpaw rested her tail on Foxpaw's shoulder, but she flicnhed away and stared open-mouthed into the dark ginger apprentice's eyes.

Heatherstar snapped, "Reedfeather! Where have you gotten to? Reedfeather!" No cat answered her, and she turned around, eyes glittering, and saw that the WindClan tom was dead. The leader gave a cry of despair and ran over to Reedfeather's still form. Russetpaw tried to shove Foxpaw away, but before they could get away , Heatherstar shoved her face into Foxpaw's and hissed, "You've killed my deputy, foxdung!" Foxpaw flattened her ears and lifted her paw, as if expecting the gray she-cat to attack. Raggedstar shoved his way over and spat in Heatherstar's face, "Take him and go! This is what happens when you try and take our territory, remember it. Just think, Clan deputy, killed by an apprentice!" Heatherstar's eyes smoldered with fury, but she had sustained heavy injuries, so she simply dragged her warrior away by the scruff. "Back to camp. Now!" Raggedstar ordered sharply, and the patrol turned to leave.

Russetpaw brushed her fur against Foxpaw's, then dashed over to Oakpaw, who was with Whitepaw a few fox-lengths away. She was still bleeding from the deep scratches on her face." Oakpaw, find some cobwebs." she told him quietly, then started gently cleaning off the blood. The rest of the patrol left without noticing that three of the apprentices weren't with them, and Russetpaw felt a flash of annoyance toward Raggedstar. She dressed Whitepaw's wound with cobwebs as best she could, but she was no medicine cat. " Let's get her back to camp." murmured Oakpaw, and brother and sister dragged her to the dark hollow side by side.

Yellowfang finished dressing her wounds, then sent her from the den to make room; not one of the battle patrol had gotten away unscathed, but Whitepaw was easily the most injured. Littlepaw told Russetpaw that her friend would never be able to see from that eye again. Across the den, Archeye and Littlebird were curled into one nest snugly, wrapped in cobwebs. Russetpaw felt a stab of envy at their closeness. They were always there for each other, had kits, and shared something that Russetpaw had never felt; Love. Sure, she loved her mother, father, sisters and brothers, but it wasn't the same. She wanted to have a mate, to have a littler of kits at her belly. She pushed the thought away; someday, maybe. But not now.

Just then, Raggedstar called, "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather beneath the Great Pine for a Clan meeting!" Whitepaw gave a small sigh of sadness and poked her ravaged head out of the den, and Russetpaw gave her ear a friendly lick as she went out to see what was going on, though it was probably just a report on how the battle went. The Clan gathered, and Raggedstar started the meeting. "Today is a day of triumph," he began, "but also of sadness. Our patrol fought with a great number of WindClan warriors today, when they tried to expand their territory into ours. They tried to take Carrionplace from us, and a good stretch of plain territory as well. But did we let them?" a pawful of voices shouted, "No!" but the rest were painfully silent. "No, we didn't! We fought them, and an apprentice took the life of their deputy!" There were shocked murmurs that rippled through the crowd, and Foxpaw stared at her paws.

"Though their warrior outnumbered us, we are strong, and we fought them off!" Raggedstar growled inspirationally, but his voice dropped to a low note of grief after. "But it was not without a price. All of us were injured, but there is one of us whose life will forever be changed by today's events. Whitepaw." The huge tabby tom raised his head to the stars and informed the Clan, "Whitepaw was blinded and gravely injured by the WindClan warrior Talltail." There were pained gasps from all around, and Russetpaw hung her head. "Whitepaw can never be a warrior." Wait, what? Russetpaw thought angrily. "Raggedstar, no!" she shouted, not really thinking straight. "She may be blind in one eye, but she still has one! I will help her learn to fight again once she's healed. She will be a warrior! She has to be!" Raggedstar looked her over, then dipped his head and said doubtfully, "Very well. You may try to help her learn, Russetpaw, for her mentor will not be able to." Before any cat could question him, he continued, "Littlebird has requested to join Stonetooth in the elder's den, and Archeye will be joining her."

The two cats twined their tail and stood before the Clan with their heads held high, and Russetpaw noticed for the first time the gray around Littlebird's muzzle. "Littlebird, Archeye, is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go to join the elders?" The mates said at the same time, "It is." Raggedstar dipped his head respectfully. "The Clan honors you and all the service you have given to the Clan. I call upon StarClan to give you many seasons of rest." They nodded, and Raggedstar continued with the meeting. "Now, today, three cats have proved to me that they deserve an honor that would not normally be bestowed upon them for a few more moons." He looked out over the crowd and met his apprentice's eyes. "Foxpaw proved her excellent fighting skills today, skills that the hardiest warriors were no more than equal to. Oakpaw saved Whitepaw's life in the battle, and she would likely have died without him. But there is another apprentice who has proved her worth today more than the others. Russetpaw brought back an owl on a solo hunting patrol, as most of you know, as well as several more bits of fresh-kill. The owl will feed a good number of us tonight, and I've never heard of a cat bringing down an owl in it's own hollow before, let alone an apprenitce. Russetpaw also aided Oakpaw in saving Whitepaw by fighting off Talltail and preventing him from ending her life. She also fought with several other WindClan warriors and is still mostly unharmed. These three apprentices will now be given warrior status." Raggedstar announced.

There were nods of approval, and Raggedstar began the ceremony that Russetpaw had been waiting for since she's been a kit. She gave her fur a few quick licks, pride swelling in her. "Hollyflower, Wetfoot, are you satisfied that your apprentices are ready to become warriors?" Wetfoot said solemnly, "Yes." while Hollyflower mewed, "Definitely!" Raggedstar smiled and added, "I am also satisfied that Foxpaw is ready to be a warrior." Clearing his throat, he said clearly, "I, Raggedstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have worked hard to understand the ways of you noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Oakpaw, Foxpaw, Russetpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own lives?" Oakpaw meowed, "I do." Beside her, Foxpaw said shakily, "I do." Russetpaw then finished, "I do." Raggedstar paused for a moment, perhaps thinking of names for them, then meowed, "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Oakpaw, from this moment forward you will be known as Oakfur. StarClan honors your bravery and loyalty. Foxpaw, from this moment forward you shall be known as Foxheart. StarClan honors your strength and fighting skill."

Foxheart exchanged a glance with Russetpaw, obviously uncomfortable with her less-than-perfect name; Foxheart made her sound like an evil warrior, not a name to be proud of. "Russetpaw, from this moment forward you will be known as Russetfur. StarClan honors your cunning and hunting ability. We welcome you all as full warriors of ShadowClan." The crowd started to cheer, but Raggedstar waved his tail for silence. "There is one last ceremony for me to perform tonight. Dawncloud's kits have reached their sixth moon, and it is time for them to be apprenticed. Russetfur glanced over to see Nightkit and his littermates looking at once shocked and pleased. "Kits, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day until the day you earn your warrior names, you shall be known as Stumpypaw, Brightpaw, Clawpaw, and Nightpaw. I ask StarClan to watch over you all unti lthe day when you find the courage and strength of warriors in your paws."

"Foxheart, you are ready to take on you first apprentice. You have shown that to me today. You will be Stumpypaw's mentor. I trust you to pass on all the skills and courage I taught you." Foxheart touched noses with the short-tailed apprentice, and Raggedstar continued with the ceremony. "Brightpaw, your mentor will be Oakfur. I'm sure he will teach you not onkly how to be fearless in battle, but also to have compassion for those in need of it." The black and white she-cat touched nose with Oakfur. "I will mentor Clawpaw, and make sure he will be a warrior all of ShadowClan will be proud of." After pausing to touch noses with his new apprentice, he finished, "Russetfur, you will mentor Nightpaw, and teach him all of the skills you possess." With a rush of pleasure at having her friend as an apprentice, she touched noses with him. Russetfur chanted with the rest of the Clan, leaving out her own name, "Littlebird! Archeye! Foxheart! Oakfur! Stumpypaw! Brightpaw! Clawpaw! Nightpaw!" She brushed her dark ginger fur against his black pelt and he said cheekily, "So what next, _mentor_?"


	9. Allegiances 2

_**ALLEGIANCES (2):**_

**Leader:** **Raggedstar **- huge, muscular dark brown tabby tom with ragged, patchy fur, yellow eyes, and a shredded ear

Apprentice, **Clawpaw**

**Deputy**: **Lizardfang** - light brown tabby tom with one hooked tooth

**Medicine Cat:** **Runningnose** - small, gray-and-white tom with amber eyes and a constantly running nose

Apprentices, **Yellowfang** and **Littlepaw**

**Warriors:** **Poolcloud - **gray and white she-cat

**Dawncloud** - small tabby she-cat

**Blackfoot**- large white tom with huge, jet-black paws, darker ears, and a long tail

Apprentice, **Tallpaw**

**Wetfoot **- gray tabby tom

**Jaggedtooth** - large, ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, **Rowanpaw**

**Foxheart** - bright ginger she-cat with pale green eyes

Apprentice, **Stumpypaw**

**Oakfur** - small brown tom with yellow eyes

Apprentice, **Brightpaw**

**Russetfur** - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, **Nightpaw**

**Queens****: Crowtail** - skinny black tabby she-cat with green eyes, mother of Runningnose's kits: Skykit, Duskkit, Vinekit, Frogkit, and Owlkit

Apprentice, **Cloudpaw**

**Featherstorm** - brown tabby she-cat, mother of Blackfoot's kits: Lizardkit, Snakekit, Brownkit, and Shadekit

Apprentice, **Cedarpaw**

**Hollyflower** - dark gray and white she-cat, expecting ?'s kits**

**Apprentices:**** Yellowfang **- battle-scarred, dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face, and orange eyes

**Littlepaw** - undersized brown tabby tom with light blue eyes

**Tallpaw** - long-legged light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Rowanpaw** - dark ginger tom

**Cedarpaw** - dark gray tom

**Cloudpaw** - white tom with pale blue eyes

**Whitepaw** - long furred white she-cat with one blind eye

**Stumpypaw** - brown tabby tom with a short tail

**Brightpaw** - black and white she-cat

**Clawpaw** - brown tom with yellow eyes

**Nightpaw** - lean, black tom with amber eyes

**Elders:**** Littlebird** - small, ginger tabby she-cat

**Archeye** - gray tabby tom with black stripes and a thick stripe over one eye

**Stonetooth -** is a thin gray tabby tom with long teeth

**Kits:Skykit** - large gray and white tom with green eyes

**Duskkit** - gray she-cat with a white-tipped tail and gray-blue eyes

**Vinekit** - black and white she-cat with emerald green eyes and a long tail

**Frogkit** - white tom with light gray speckles and bright green eyes

**Owlkit** - black tom with white speckles, ultra black tabby stripes, and striking amber eyes

**Lizardkit** - light brown tabby she-cat with a white underbelly and yellow eyes

**Brownkit** - brown tabby tom

**Snakekit **- dark brown tom with a tabby-striped tail

**Shadekit** - black she-cat with a white blaze on her chest, white paws and tail

** Hollyflower is not going to tell any cat who the father of her kits is, but newly named Russetfur is certainly going to find out, so hold on to your tails until then :D :D

**A/N: Please let me know if I made any mistakes so that I can fix them up accordingly, it will be very very helpful of you! :) EDIT! Apparently, I am no longer supposed to post these updated Allegiances unless I have story content on here, so, here is a short little story from Nightpaw's persepctive from right before he became Russetfur's apprentice! Enjoy. **

Nightkit waited outside the nursery for Russetpaw, his heart clenching and unclenching. The beautiful she-cat padded out of the den and he smiled and sat down next to her. She purred, and he mumbled, "You made quite a catch." The ginger she-cat did not reply, only purred louder and leaned against him. He was glad to notice that they were the same size, though he was younger.

The moment shattered when Raggedstar meowed, "It's time for the patrol to leave!" The fear of her leaving for battle struck him.

"Be careful." he whispered, praying to StarClan she would be alright.

The apprentice looked into his eyes with her beautiful dark emerald eyes and replied seriously, "I will." The kit sat there for a little while longer, wondering if she would return safely. She was a good fighter, maybe the best of the apprentices, but she could be reckless and had a protector complex. If she gave her life up for another cat... It wouldn't surprise him all that much.

He watched Russetpaw follow the rest of the patrol out of camp. She glanced back at him, her eyes looking as worried as he felt. She paused to wait for Whitepaw, who could barely keep her paw still.

The patrol left the camp empty besides him, and Nightkit shivered, feeling the loneliness down to his soul. "Brother! Brother, come play!" Brightkit called happily from the mouth of the den. He turned and entered the nursery slowly, mind still otherwise occupied.

Brightkit pounced on him as he came through the entrance, tackling him to the ground and rolling him over. Acting on instinct, he used the power in his back legs to shove against his sister's stomach, throwing her off. He leaped to his paws, ready for a tussle.

Brightkit gathered herself up a little ways away, and he watched her intently, not expecting the other body to barrel into him from his other side, knocking the breath out of him. Regaining his thoughts, he saw that his brother Clawkit was the one digging his oversized claws into his side. The black furred tom bit down on his brother's right forepaw, making him yelp.

Brightkit jumped onto the ball of fur that was the tussling toms, biting and scratching, drawing the blood of whichever. "Kits!" Dawncloud commanded. "Clawkit, you know not to use your claws in a play-fight! Look at poor Nightkit's pelt!" she exclaimed disapprovingly.

Nightkit knew he had used just much tooth and claw as his brother, but said nothing. If he could get away with it, he wasn't about to argue. "Now, go on, you are getting too big for the nursery. Play outside. Nicely!"

The three of them, followed by a groggy Stumpykit, ran outside to the fresh-kill pile. "Where is e-e-everyone?" the short-tailed kit yawned, stumbling over a twig and almost falling down.

"Well, clumsy, they're out on a battle patrol." Brightkit said snottily, while Clawkit and Nightkit continued over to a small green plant in the soil. The brown tom unsheathed his claws and tore it off at the stem.

"Why didn't you stand up for me, you jerk! You were just as violent as I was!" He spat angrily.

Nightkit pawed the ground shamefully. "I didn't want Dawncloud to be mad at me..." he mewed innocently, while his brother snorted in derision.

"Whatever. You're a bad brother. I wish I was the only kit in her litter!" he growled, walking away from the others to sit by himself. Nightkit laid down by the remains of the plant, frowning. _I am a bad brother, aren't I?_ He thought.

The four of them wandered about the empty camp, only Nightkit not moving from his spot. Near the entrance of the camp, he waited and waited. Finally, a noise made him prick his ears. Not a moment later, Raggedstar entered the camp, bloodied and limping, the patrol just behind him.

"Did we win?" Brightkit chirped excitedly from somewhere behind Nightkit. He ignored her, not even hearing the answer. He had eyes for only one cat, and she did not enter the camp with the patrol. Panic rose in him, and he turned to the closest cat, which happened to be Wetfoot.

The gray warrior saw the kit staring and look at him questioningly. "Is Russetpaw alright? Where is she?" He shrugged, not having a clue. The black furred kit dashed through the throng of warriors, terrified, looking for Foxpaw or Oakpaw or Whitepaw, anyone who might have kept track of her. Anyone who would know if she was alive or dead. His question was answered as Oakpaw and Russetpaw dragged Whitepaw into the hollow, blood-stained cobwebs over the white she-cat's eye.

The dark ginger apprentice didn't notice him standing there as she took Whitepaw to the medicine den, but he didn't care. _Why do I care this much?_ He wondered half-heartedly, but it didn't matter. The relief that she had not joined the ranks of StarClan was too overwhelming. _Thank you._ He thought, looking up at the sky. _Thank you. _


	10. Fog

**A/N: A little disappointed with the number of reviews for the last chapter (the one before the allegiances) but I am the one who is going to apologize. I've just started my freshman year of high school, and it's terribly confusing and time-consuming and really, I have been so busy trying to adjust that I haven't updated my fan fiction stuff in a very, very long time. Now, it's a four-day weekend (thank goodness!) so I'm hoping to catch up on all of my stories, but especially this one. Please forgive me for being a sucky updater for the last while. And now, Chapter...Whatever chapter # it is! (Oh, and I've decided to continue this directly from the last line of "Fur".)**

"Next, Nightpaw, we're going to leave camp." Russetfur meowed happily. A few tail-lengths away, Foxheart, Oakfur, and their apprentices were chatting, so Russetfur made her way over to them. "Hi, Russetfur!" purred Foxheart, "I'm taking Stumpypaw around the territory, and Oakfur's giving Brightpaw a hunting lesson. What are you doing?" Giving her sister a small smile, she replied, "Teaching Nightpaw ShadowClan tactics. Look at the fog rolling in; it's a great day for it." She nodded to the pearly opaque clouds of fog that were forming on the marsh. "Besides, I wanted to do something fun, since tomorrow's not going to be as much." She winked at Nightpaw's expression of trepidation and laughed. "Oh, it's nothing terrible, we're just going to the Burnt Sycamore so you can learn how to get moss for the elders." she told him, then saw that Brightpaw was kneading the ground with her paws impatiently, so she nodded towards the camp entrance and the two left.

Russetfur led Nightpaw to a special clearing that she called the Pine Meadow because it was on top of a slight hill, so it was dry, and several sapling pines encircled the normally grassy area. Now, in leaf-bare, the grass was brown and dead, but it was beautiful in leaf-fall, when Russetfur had first discovered it. The fog obscured their surroundings as it rolled in, thick and fast, until the cats couldn't see a tail-length in front of their own noses. "So, what are these "ShadowClan tactics" you're teaching me, Russetfur?" asked Nightpaw curiously as he sat beside her, leaning into her soft fur.

"Well, you see, Nightpaw, each Clan has their own special attributes. RiverClan is very strong, and they can swim in the river like otters. WindClan is lean, fast and nimble, so they can dodge and hunt their rabbits. ThunderClan are skilled fighters and they can navigate through the thick undergrowth. But ShadowClan also has its special skills. We are cunning and clever, and we can camouflage ourselves. We are adept at stealthy maneuvers and, best of all, we are night hunters as well as day hunters. Cats like you and I have it easy in ShadowClan, because of our dark pelts. You will be a fantastic night hunter with your fur." She gave his ear a quick lick and he grinned.

"Now, we're not as strong as RiverClan, or as fast as WindClan, or even as skilled at fighting as ThunderClan, but we are more clever than the whole lot of them, and that's how we win our battles. But instead of talking about it, let me show you. Charge at me like you're three times my size, okay?" Russetfur meowed, then retreated to a space between the two tallest saplings. With a mischievous glint in his eye, Nightpaw sprang forward and barreled toward his mentor. Russetfur judged when he would get there, and just as he was about to slam into her, she put all her weight on her hind legs and leaped clear over him. He whipped around and started to charge at her again, but this time the warrior dodged to the side, landed a soft blow with sheathed claws, and darted to the other side of the clearing before he could retaliate.

Nightpaw froze and looked at where Russetfur had hit him with an expression of horror. He turned to her, his eyes wide, and stammered, "Y-you've k-k-killed me!" And fell to his side dramatically with a few theatrical twitches. Russetfur rolled her eyes and called, "Quit playing, you!" though her tone was not stern. Nightpaw got to his feet and "limped" over to his mentor and mewed, "Just a bit of fun." The dark ginger warrior cuffed him lightly over the ear and explained, "I know. But WindClan's going to be furious with us for a time, and they could very well attack again, soon. If they do, you have to be able to protect yourself, in case I need to help some other cat." She flinched at her words, and Nightpaw looked at her questioningly. "I left Whitepaw to help Foxpaw- I mean, Foxheart, fight off a WindClan warrior called Dawnstripe, and because I left her, she got terribly injured. It's my fault..." Russetfur hung her head. The black-furred tom shook his head vehemently. "If you hadn't gone to help Foxheart, she could have been hurt, and you would have been too, fighting off whoever wounded Whitepaw. Now come on, teach me how to fight." He changed the subject.

"Okay. I'm going to attack you, and you fight back however you can. Just keep those claws sheathed! You're as nearly as big as me, and I have enough injuries already." Russetfur instructed. Nightpaw sank low on his paws, tail swishing back and forth in anticipation. His mentor backed away into the fog until she was invisible, and Nightpaw pricked his ears for any sound of her approaching. Russetfur narrowed her eyes to slits to keep them from letting her apprentice know where she was. She stalked toward him, letting the slight breeze carry his scent toward her, but standing so that he could not smell her own scent. As she neared him, she stepped to the side and rustled a dead leaf with her tail. She leaped a few fox-lengths away, gave a slight hiss, then jumped over him to his other side and landed with a purposeful thud. She slunk away from where she landed and finally charged in, landing a medium blow on Nightpaw's shoulder before running off again.

She stalked towards him once more and attacked, but before she could get away, Nightpaw latched onto her and hit her with a flurry of blows. She parried them and wrenched herself free. Russetfur sat down a tail-length from her apprentice and cleaned her paw hastily. "That was amazing!" her apprentice meowed enthusiastically. "The first time, I had no idea where you were coming from! There was a noise behind me, then to my right, and then my left, and I was so surprised when you attacked from the front! And then you were gone! You're right, ShadowClan fighting technique is the best! What do you call that, when you make a blow, then get away before your enemy fights back?" he babbled eagerly. Russetfur's whiskers twitched with amusement and she purred, "The Wolfstrike. Legend says that a warrior named Wolfpaw developed it and that's how he got his warrior name. Wolfstrike. Sounds cool, doesn't it?" Nightpaw nodded and looked thoughtful for a minute before purring, "I'm going to make a battle move, and Raggedstar can name me Nightstrike!" He said and put on a "fierce" face.

Russetfur bowled him over and pinned him down playfully. "Well, Nightstrike, developing battle moves will have to wait. It's getting late." the sound of voices from a few fox-llengths away made Russetfur prick her ears in interest. She recognized Oakfur's voice and she smiled devilishly at Nightpaw. "Let's scare our littermates, shall we?" she breathed in his ear and he nodded, an expression of contemplation. Russetfur signaled with her tail for him to keep up behind the pair, and she would head them off from the front. "Be careful. They may not know it's us, and they could attack." she said under her breath, and Nightpaw dipped his head in acknowledgement. "You blink three times when you're in position, okay? Then we yowl as loud as we can. They'll be shocked out of their fur!" she murmured softly, then they stalked towards the sound of Oakfur and Brightpaw talking.

She sped ahead until she was a fox-length in front of her brother, the darkness and thick fog hiding her from sight. She looked back and saw a pair of amber eyes blink four times consecutively. She waited a moment, then yowled to StarClan as loud as she could, trying not to laugh. She heard Brightpaw give a shriek of fear, and Nightpaw's yowl disintegrated into a laughing fit. Hearing him laugh made Russetfur laugh too, and she didn't even care when she heard Oakfur approaching. She knew it was him, judging by the weight of the paw steps and the angry growl that accompanied those paw steps. Tears were coming from her eyes, she was laughing so hard, and she had fallen to the ground, sides heaving.

Oakfur saw that it was only his sister and his eyes narrowed. "Russetfur! What was that all about?" She sobered up enough to choke, "Scared you!" Oakfur rolled his eyes and called angrily, "Brightpaw! It's just my stupid sister." Russetfur's ear shot straight up and she snapped, "Watch who you're calling stupid Oakfur! If you'll remember, you were the one who jumped out of your skin from a bit of yowling!" She stalked over to Nightpaw, tail twitching irritably. "Let's get back to camp." she mewed, and her apprentice nodded as he got to his feet. "Okay."

The four cats arrived in the dark hollow, and Oakfur stalked immediately to the warrior's den. Brightpaw, after giving her brother a nasty look, padded over to the apprentice's den. "We'd best get some rest, Nightpaw, unless you want to eat first." Russetfur meowed quietly as she saw a dark furred cat approaching them. She squinted and saw that it was Raggedstar. The huge tabby nodded to them and said, "You will both be attending the Gathering tomorrow night, so go get a bit of rest, but I want you both up by sunhigh." Russetfur rolled her eyes and smiled, "I haven't slept that long since I was in the nursery, and I'll make sure this lump of fur is also up. Don't worry about it. Oh, and we're taking care of the elders, in case you were going to tell some other cat to do it." The ShadowClan leader winked at Nightpaw. "I was going to ask Cloudpaw, but okay. Have fun, Nightpaw." he turned to leave, and the black apprentice gave an enormous yawn. "G'night, Russetfur." he said sleepily, then padded to his new den.

Russetfur entered the warriors den with a flash of pride at being in the warriors den. Raggedstar had told them that they would hold their warriors vigil the night after the Gathering so that they wouldn't be totally worn down. She saw that Blackfoot had taken up a spot near the center of the den, even though he had been made a warrior only six moons ago. "Selfish bum." muttered Russetfur quietly and stuck her tongue out at his sleeping form. She saw that there was an empty nest between Foxheart and Hollyflower, and thought it must be hers. She also saw that another nest had been dragged to the opposite side of the den, and Oakfur was lying in it. _Definitely mine, then_, Russetfur winced before curling up in the nest.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was a tad boring and short, but my chapters were getting up to 3 1/2 thousand words, and that's just too long, so I'm shortening them. I'm afraid nothing big happens in the next chapter as of now, but my fingers take me where they take me, so you never know! :D R & R! **


	11. Lies

The night of the Gathering fell dark and cold. Though the fog from the previous day had faded to the faintest of mists, heavy clouds rolled in to cover most of the sky, leaving only a single patch unhidden, letting the moon shine through, bright, full, and clear. A bitter breeze swept across ShadowClan territory, chilling Russetfur to the bone. Not even the freezing, desolate weather could keep the dark ginger she-cat from being excited tonight, however. Tonight was to be her first Gathering as a warrior, and better yet, as a mentor.

The whole Clan was jittery for this gathering, so soon after the battle with WindClan, not to mention the new warriors, apprentices, and kits to tell of. Russetfur unsheathed her claws and scratched the earth lightly in anticipation. She padded over to the nursery to check on her mother. "Crowtail?" she whispered, not wanting to wake any of the kits. She scented Crowtail's kits, but they seemed to be sleeping. There was no response, so she backed out of the den before she heard the barley audible whisper.

"Russetfur?" A pair of small green eyes glinted in the darkness. It was Vinekit.

"Vinekit. I'm sorry I woke you. You should go back to sleep." breathed the new warrior.

Through the dim light, Vinekit's eyes scrunched up as if she were yawning. "Where are you going?" she murmured curiously.

"To the Gathering. I'll see you in the morning." replied Russetfur softly, starting to edge her way cautiously out of the den.

"Be careful..." sighed Vinekit before falling back into sleep. Confused by the kit's cryptic warning, Russetfur shivered unconsciously as she left the nursery. Why would she need to be careful at a Gathering? The thoughts were driven from her as Nightpaw bounced over to her, ecstatic.

"This is so exciting! What do you think WindClan will say about the battle? Will Raggedstar mention us by name? Will we meet any warriors from other Clans? Or are we supposed to stick with just ShadowClan cats?" he rambled, not pausing for answers until Russetfur flicked her tail over his mouth.

"I've no idea what WindClan will say, but they're sure to twist things around to make us look bad; WindClan's pretty good at that. Raggedstar usually mentions new warriors and apprentices by name, and we can talk to anyone we like. You just stick close to me, alright? there's someone I want you to meet, anyway. A friend of mine." Russetfur smiled. Raggedstar gave the order to start moving but before she could take more than a few steps, Hollyflower's voice made her pause.

"Russetfur, say hi to Fuzzypelt for me." her aunt and ex-mentor told her, a strange urgency in her eyes. Russetfur dipped her head in acknowledgement and promise. Catching up to the rest of the cats, she fell in line between Cloudpaw and Lizardfang, who were hanging toward the back. Cloudpaw looked miserable, and Russetfur didn't need to ask why he was so morose; she already knew. He was thinking of Whitepaw, cooped up in the medicine den, clinging to life, while Raggedstar told him he had to go to the gathering. Russetfur wordlessly laid her tail on his shoulder.

As they neared FourTrees, Nightpaw fell back to walk near Russetfur, looking slightly less excited and a lot more nervous. ThunderClan and WindClan were already huddled by the Oaks, but RiverClan hadn't arrived yet. Only a few feet separated the Clans below; it was too cold for rivalries to make them spread apart. ShadowClan took their place on the other side of ThunderClan; away from the clan they had battled just days ago. "Russetpaw!" came a most familiar voice.

"Tigerpaw! I have so much to tell you!" Russetfur exclaimed as her friend came near. Nightpaw hovered nervously next to her as the huge apprentice came closer.

"Uh... Who's this?" he nodded at the small black apprentice.

Russetfur smiled lightly. "All part of the story. This is Nightpaw...My apprentice." she waited for him to make the connection.

"Apprentice? You mean... You're a warrior now? A mentor, too?" he asked, and Russetfur could have sworn there was a twinge of envy in his gaze.

The dark ginger she-cat dipped her head a bit shyly. "I am Russetfur now. Raggedstar was really pressed for mentors, so Foxheart, Oakfur, and I are mentors now and- hey, is Fuzzypelt here?"

"I.. I think so? Why?" Tigerpaw asked curiously, his eyes darting down to Nightpaw.

Suddenly the black-furred tom darted out of the ThunderClan crowed and peered at ShadowClan, obviously looking for someone. "'Scuse me, sorry." Russetfur told Tigerpaw and padded over to the ThunderClan warrior. "Fuzzypelt."

"Russetpaw! Where's your mentor? Is she alright?" he jabbered nervously, his eyes still scanning through the ShadowClan delegations.

Flicking her ears, she replied, "I'm Russetfur now, and Hollyflower wasn't chosen to go to the Gathering this time. Why wouldn't she be alright?"

Disappointment flashed in his bright yellow eyes and he hesitated before answering. "No reason. Er, you're a warrior now? Congratulations..." he changed the subject awkwardly.

"Yes...Thanks. Hollyflower told me to give you her greetings. What's going on?" Russetfur asked sharply.

Struggling for a reply, a sudden idea hit him and he he smiled, talking fast. "Oh! I uh, heard about the battle with WindClan from... Umm... Reedfeather of WindClan told me. I was just worried she had gotten.. Injured." He nodded eagerly.

Reedfeather... Reedfeather was the cat Foxheart had killed in the battle! As Russetfur opened her mouth to question his lie, Raggedstar started speaking from the Great Rock. The dark ginger warrior turned her head to see that sitting below with the deputies was the WindClan warrior she had fought; the one that looked like Vinekit. Fire smoldered in her heart as she thought of Whitepaw, but she swallowed her anger and turned back to find Nightpaw and Tigerpaw.

"Hello." began Raggedstar in his great booming voice, "ShadowClan has much to report. First, I would like to mention the birth of a litter of kits, Crowtail's. All five," he paused for effect, "are healthy and thriving. We also have three new warriors, Foxheart, Oakfur, and Russetfur, as well as four new apprentices - Brightpaw, Clawpaw, Nightpaw, and Stumpypaw. " he paused as ThunderClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan cheered for the new warriors and apprentices. WindClan remained silent. "However, there is other news, news not so happy. WindClan attempted to take a portion of our territory, including our Carrionplace. They were not successful. There were losses, the most prominent being that of Whitepaw. This apprentice, only a few moons away from being a warrior, had her future brutally taken away by the WindClan cat Redclaw. He took her eye and half of her face. She will never be able to see out of that eye again. Archeye and Littlebird decided to leave the life of a warrior and join the elder's after sustaining injuries they may never fully recover from. On that note, I invite the other leaders to share their news." He sat down, his final words making it awkward for any cat to step forward. Finally, Bluestar did.

Hailstar and Bluestar reported the usual struggles of leaf-bare and a few new apprentices and warriors were named, but nothing supremely fascinating held Rusetfur's interest until Heatherstar started her report. "WindClan is doing as well as it can, for early leaf-bare, but prey is poor, and we are hungry. We tried to take ShadowClan's land to help feed our kits, but not only did we lose, but our former deputy, Reedfeather was killed by a ShadowClan cat. Our new deputy is Talltail, and we appointed a new warrior; Mudclaw." There were a few half-hearted cheers, and Nightpaw snickered. Russetfur made no attempt to chastise her apprentice.

ShadowClan left the Gathering with their heads held high, while WindClan slunk away morosely under the glares from all sides. Nightpaw hissed as Talltail walked past and the amber-eyed warrior fixed him with a glare. Russetfur stepped in front of him with her claws outstretched ad her teeth bared. He obviously remembered her from the battle as recognition flared in his eyes; apprehension also glimmered in their depths.

* * *

Russetfur had hardly reached camp before Hollyflower came up to her again. "Russetfur! Did you, er, tell Fuzzypelt?" Recalling the suspicious exchange she had had with him, she dipped her head cautiously.

"Yes... He seemed very concerned about you..." Said the ginger warrior.

Hollyflower suppressed a small smile. "Really- I mean, Oh. Well. I found out a few days ago that I'm having kits, plus the battle with WindClan and all.. What friend wouldn't be worried?"

"Did he know you were expecting?" Russetfur asked lightly, as if her mind was on other things.

"Yes.. I mean, no! Well, sometimes friends just..know these things? We're close.. He probably.. guessed. I- I'd best get some rest. Really tired. Good night!" she said this all very fast, then sped to the warrior's den. Russetfur narrowed her eyes. First Fuzzypelt's slip up about finding out about the battle from Reedfeather, who was dead, and now he just seemed to know that his "friend" happened to be pregnant? Even though she only knew a few days ago, so there was no way she could have told him at the previous Gathering... It was all very, very suspicious, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it all.

**A/N: I know it's been a LOOOOONG time since I last updated, but I'll never be able to apologize enough, so, sorry. Reviews always appreciated, but I already know this chapter kind of blows. The next one will be better. Promise. Something very exciting is going to happen in the next few chapters... Heh heh heh heh heh...**


	12. Love

Russetfur gulped down the last of her tiny frog, her stomach complaining for more. She stifled the rumbling noises that emitted from her belly and stretched. Nightpaw was still asleep, so she decided to visit the kits in the nursery. Almost half a moon had passed since the Gathering, but she had yet to fully interrogate Hollyflower about Fuzzypelt. It was hard to get her alone, especially as she got closer to term, though she still had a while to go. She stepped into the den, and was immediately pounced upon by Vinekit. "Russetfur!" she cried happily, putting her front paws up to the older she-cat's chest.

"Well, hello Vinekit." the warrior chuckled. "I think you're getting bigger again," she frowned, looking the kit up and down. "Soon you'll be as big as I am!" Vinekit puffed out her chest and stood tall.

Her green eyes sparkling, she announced, "I'm going to make Raggedstar get you as my mentor when I'm six moons old.

"Are you, now? And just how do you plan to force the Clan leader to bend to your will, hmm?" Russetfur asked teasingly.

After pausing to think about it, Vinekit piped, "I'll get Runningnose and Littlecloud and Nightpaw and my brothers to help me! We'll pin him down and make him promise!" she giggled, imagining the scene.

Russetfur laughed, too, and started to reply, "Good lu-" before being cut off by some cat yowling her name outside the den. "Guess it's time for me to go. Duty calls." After mussing Vinekit's piebald fur with her tail, Russetfur winked and left the den. Nightpaw was pacing restlessly in the clearing, and he opened his mouth to call again- Russetfur recognized the voice as his now that she thought about it. "I'm right here, Nightpaw." she said with a bit of tiredness showing in her voice.

"What are we doing today? Hunting? Battle training? Patrol? An assessment?" he asked rapidly, his eyes shining with excitement.

Half-smiling, "I'm afraid today you are going to do something you probably won't particularly want to do. It's my turn to go herb-gathering with Runningnose, since Littlecloud's busy, so you're on elder duty. When you're done with that, either find someone to train with if I'm not back or help the queens out and play with the kits, okay? I'm sorry. Tomorrow we'll train, okay?" She was unsure really of why, since every apprentice had days like this, but she desperately wanted Nightpaw to be okay with it.

"It's fine, Russetfur. I'll see you later. Have fun collecting herbs." He turned away and walked away normally, but she noticed that his tail was significantly less raised. Sighing slightly, she slunk towards the medicine den.

"Runningnose!" she called into the mouth of the den. "Can we go?" The older cat merely grunted in response as he slid from the shadows of the dark den. "Okay," she asked as they walked side by side towards the camp entrance, "What exactly are we looking for here?"

Shooting her an annoyed glance, the grumpy old cat answered gruffly, "_You_ are looking for catmint in the Twoleg gardens, and I am looking for goldenrod and horsetail. we'll be lucky to find anything, but if you happen upon any catmint, take as much as you can without totally killing the plant. We'll need it, with the weather and all those...kits, running around licking each other." A look of disgust came over his face, and Russetfur had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at the thought of Vinekit dashing around camp, licking every cat in sight. Knowing that if she opened her mouth she would burst out laughing, she merely nodded and turned in the direction of Twolegplace, waving her tail in farewell.

* * *

Reaching Twolegplace, or the part of it on the ShadowClan side of the Thunderpath, she started looking in the gardens for catmint. She leaped onto the thin wood fence and peeked over. There was none of the plant in the first three gardens, and only one tiny plant of it in the fourth. Russetfur promptly snatched up what she could, but only two small leaves could be harvested if the plant were to live. The fifth and sixth yards did not have anything to offer, but she found a glorious amount in the seventh. Half of the Twoleg's garden was filled with the stuff. She hopped down, setting the miniature leaves from her jaws and onto the ground. She leaned forward to bite off the first leaf when a deep voice made her tumble backwards, startled. "Whatcha doing?" the cat asked.

Russetfur looked up to see a big white and light gray tom with kind light green eyes looking at her curiously. Knowing any explanation she could give him would sound fairly ridiculous, she told him the truth. "I... I am stealing some of your Twolegs' plants so that I can makes sure my Clan doesn't get sick."

Looking a bit bewildered, the tom replied, "Well, okay. But what are Clans and how can these help them?" Tilting his head to one side, he let a small smile adorn his lips. "And what, fair she-cat, is your name?"

Embarrassed, the warrior got slowly to her paws and stammered, "I-I'm Russetfur. A Clan is a big group of cats, families and kits and warriors and elders, and we all live under our leader and make sure the other cats don't get hurt or sick or hungry, and we help them when they do. These plants can help heal whitecough or greencough, which cats die from almost every winter."

"Oh. I'm Charlie! D'you want some help getting those leaves? How many do you need?" He asked as she bit a leaf off.

A little surprised at his eagerness to help, she replied," Umm, sure, Charlie. I need as many as possible, but I have to be able carry them back to camp. It's pretty far away, and we can't take too many or the plants will die and I can't come back for more next time we need them... Just start taking two or three leaves from each plant and I'll tell you when to stop, okay?" He nodded amiably and they started picking leaves, both smiling. Soon they had accumulated a big enough and pile, and Russetfur called it quits. "This will be plenty." she eyed the pile apprehensively, not wanting to have to carry them the whole way.

"You sure? That seems like an awful lot to carry all the way to your camp, wherever it is. I could help you carry them aways! I don't have to be back inside until dusk, so I could help!" he offered happily.

Russetfur shook her head. "That's...probably a bad idea. You could get lost, or one of my Clanmates might see you and think you're an intruder..."

Giving her a look, he stared into her eyes. "Come on. It'll be fine. let me help you, Russetfur. I don't really know you, but I want to. " Finally, the warrior dipped her head, acquiescing. "Great!" he said cheerfully, grabbing a big mouthful of the leaves and hopping onto a counter that stood about half as tall as the fence. Russetfur grabbed the rest and joined him before they both leaped to the top of the fence. Getting a bit off-balance, Charlie waved his tail to steady himself and looked doubtfully down to the ground. Feeling playful, Russetfur shoved him off the fence and jumped down with him, her laughing muffled by the leaves.

They hit the ground and Charlie gave her a mock sour glance, which only made her laugh harder. She led him in the direction of camp until they could only just see his yard. She set down her leaves and he copied her. "I suppose you should go back." Russetfur said a bit reluctantly.

Charlie nudged her with his head, twice as large as hers. "You're right that I shouldn't go any further than this. But that doesn't mean we have to go our separate ways just yet." He winked.

"Hmmm. I suppose that's true..." she murmured before tackling him. He fell over in surprise, a challenging light entering his eyes. Dancing away, Russetfur crouched playfully. "Come and get me. I dare you!" Mock growling, Charlie sped at her, if clumsily. She dodged out of the way nimbly and ran between his paws, tripping him. Impressively, he kept his ground after a stumble and pinned her before the warrior could get away. "Gotcha!" he chuckled, purposefully squishing her a little before getting off. "Maybe once, but I'll get you this time!" Russetfur challenged and sprang at him. Before they knew it, the sun was sinking lower and the sky was scarlet.

Panting from exertion, she glanced at the sky and shot to her tired paws. "Mouse dung! I have to go; Nightpaw's probably looking for me..."

Looking a tad disappointed, Charlie dipped his head. "Yeah, I should probably go as well. Will I see you again?"

"Maybe. I'll see what I can do but don't get your hopes up, okay Charlie? I really had fun today, and thanks for all the help with the catmint." She butted heads with the tom before scooping up the load of leaves, miraculously left unscattered by their play, and walked away, glancing back a couple of times to see him trotting back to his yard. As she got closer to the camp, a tom's voice made her jump out of her skin for the second time that day, only this time she dropped half of the catmint. Tigerpaw stepped out from behind a bunch of tall, dead grass, his eyes unreadable.

"Who was that?" he asked emotionlessly.

Russetfur started scraping the catmint back into a pile with her claws. "Just a kittypet. He helped me carry some of this catmint some of the way home an- wait. What are you doing in ShadowClan territory, Tigerpaw!" she realized the danger they both were in by him being here, and so close to camp. She shoved him back into the grass and looked at him urgently with a little difficulty; she couldn't get over how huge he was, especially since he was at least a moon or two younger than her.

"I just came to tell you something." he said a little resentfully nosing some grass off his shoulder. "Bluestar made me a warrior yesterday. I'm Tigerclaw now."

Her eyes widening in surprise, she couldn't help but smile. "Congratulations, Tiger_claw_!" she said, putting emphasis on the new part of his name. "But you should've waited until the Gathering! It's too dangerous for you to come here, and you know I promised to kick your tail if you ever came here again." she tried to sound stern but all she could manage was slightly disapproving.

"I know. But you're my best friend, Russetfur. I couldn't wait half a moon to tell you. And I missed you. I only see you once a moon, and I miss you every day in between." He said, his eyes sad and desolate.

She lowered her head. "I miss you too. I wish we were in the same Clan."

Tigerclaw tipped her head up with his nose and looked deeply into her eyes. "I love you." he told her in an urgent whisper.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. Umm, first, I feel just awful about how long it's taken me to update this story, especially since this is the one story of all that I have written for fanfiction that I love the most. This chapter was rather awful, but I did start making new paragraphs every time a new kitty speaks. I always found that rule irritating. Do you find the many mini paragraphs annoying or do they not bother you? Anyway, this chapter went a little different than how I originally planned, but I think the plotline was pretty good if the writing itself made me want to shove a spoon down my throat. Like I've said before, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but my dog just died and I transferred to Honors English so my work load is huge, as well as the enormous stress of preparing my solo for Music Festival in a couple days... My life is crazy. Not as nuts as Russetfur's, though! Ha ha ha ...ha ...ha...ha. *Coughs* Reviews are appreciated even if I don't deserve them. **


	13. Ceremony

Russetfur stumbled back in shock. "What?" she hissed. How could Tigerclaw love her? They were in different Clans! And why did his profession make her stomach turn over and tremble madly? Why did she want to say it back?

Leaning forward to lick her cheek, Tigerclaw repeated, "I love you, Russetfur. I love you." As his tongue touched her dark red fur, she squirmed away.

"You can't love me, and I can't love you. We're from different Clans. I know it sounds like I'm just regurgitating what the elders say, but it's true! ThunderClan and ShadowClan are rivals, and cats between them probably shouldn't even be close friends; but they definitely can't love each other." the she-cat told him in a low, but firm, tone. The hurt that formed in his eyes was too much for Russetfur to bear, and she turned away.

The big tom hopped over the tussock of grass to face her again. "Please, Russetfur." he pleaded, "I love you so much, I don't care if it's wrong or that our Clans are rivals. No one has to know. We can meet in the night and be secret mates because, well, I love you. You're beautiful and strong and there's no cat like you, anywhere."

Tears falling from her eyes now, she scrambled to her paws, crying, "Please stop, Tigerclaw. Don't tell me that you love me when we both know it can never work. I-I'll see you at the Gathering."

The warrior started to walk away when Tigerclaw's desperate cry stopped her in her tracks. "You love me too, Russetfur! I know you do!" Turning her head slowly to look at the tom in his eyes, so pain-filled that it made her heart ache and throb, Russetfur took a deep breath to steady her quavering voice.

"I cannot love you. It is against the warrior code." With the words that she knew were a lie, words that she knew would break her best friend's heart worse than the splitting of her own, she snatched up the herbs and sprinted full-tilt to the camp, skidding to a stop a few fox-lengths to calm her racing heart and take a bunch of deep breaths. She made sure that no tears showed and no quaver remained in her voice. Calmed, if shaking internally, she reentered the camp.

A couple of kits were tussling outside the nursery, and a couple of warriors were sharing tongues, but most of the Clan was out hunting, training, or patrolling. Russetfur cross the camp to the medicine den and found Yellowfang inside. She dropped the pile of leaves on the ground and told the she-cat, "I brought catmint." The yellow-furred medicine cat only turned and picked it up, muttering darkly. "You're welcome..." Russetfur said under her breath before leaving, knowing Yellowfang heard.

Overwhelmed by the events of the day, Russetfur stumbled to the warriors den and fell into a dizzying sleep, her tired brain conjuring dreams of all that she had experienced and what could have happened in the tussock with Tigerclaw if she had only said that she loved him.

* * *

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather beneath the Great Pine for a Clan meeting!" Raggedstar's voice woke Russetfur sharply from her slumber. She blinked open her eyes to see that a soft golden light had flooded the den: sunrise. StarClan! She had slept from dusk until past dawn without a break. Scrambling to her paws and stretching hurriedly, she blinked the lseep from her eyes and went to gather with the Clan, not having the faintest idea what was going on.

Upon seeing her brother Rowanpaw with his chest puffed out so far it looked like he was going to explode, the warrior realized what was going on; her brother and sisters' warrior ceremony! Forcing her brain to stay awake by shaking her head vigorously and stretching her claws again, Raggedstar started to speak. "ShadowClan, I am very happy to announce the Clan's second joint warrior-apprenticing ceremony in a single moon. I am very proud of our soon-to-be-warriors, and I am sure the kits will become great apprentices." There were some mutterings; the oldest kits in the nursery were Featherstorm's litter, and Russetfur was reasonably sure they were only five and a half moons, tops.

"Jaggedtooth! You have trained your first apprentice. Is he ready to become a warrior?" The large tom dipped his head, eyes glowing with pride. "Very well. Blackfoot? Featherstorm? Crowtail?" All gave nods, which was a bit strange as well, since the two latter had been in the nursery and their apprentices, Cloudpaw and Cedarpaw, had only trained with other cats. As it was, Cloudpaw looked a bit uncomfortable with the situation; he was also younger than the other apprentices and his sister wasn't with him. Whitepaw was watching from the medicine den, a small smile on her face though her good eye revealed how much pain, physically and emotionally, she was in.

"Great. Do each of you promise to protect this Clan, at the cost of your own lives, and to defend the Warrior Code with the same honor?" When the four cats replied in agreement, the tom continued on without pause. "Rowanpaw, Tallpaw, Cedarpaw, Cloudpaw, you will be known as Rowanclaw, Tallpoppy, Cedarheart, and Cloudpelt, respectively. Starclan honors your strength, your cleverness, and your skill. You are welcome additions to the ranks of ShadowClan warriors, and may you bring hope to us all for a bigger, stronger ShadowClan in the future!" As the cats cheered for the new warriors, Russetfur realized the reason for these hasty warrior and apprenticings- that bigger, stronger ShadowClan that Raggedstar seemed so desperate for. What was he so worried about? they had won the battle with WindClan, and they could do it again! Or maybe he thought the other two Clans were going to attack? Her thoughts cut out as the apprenticing began.

"And now, will Featherstorm's kits please come forward. Good. Snakekit, Brownkit, Shadekit, and Lizardkit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Snakepaw, Brownpaw, Shadepaw, and Lizardpaw. Snakepaw! I have chosen your mentor to be Rowanclaw. He is a new warrior, but I have seen him train, and I know that he will be as good a mentor as any. Dawncloud, you are ready for another apprentice, and you will be Brownpaw's. I hope you pass on the many wisdoms you have learned in your life, but also the fighting skills you possess. Shadepaw, your mentor will be Cloudpelt. He is a level-headed young tom who will almost certainly be one of our best warriors in the future. Last, Lizardpaw. Cedarheart will mentor you, and make you into a fine warrior." Raggedstar finished, and the newly paired cats touched noses while the rest of the Clan cheered.

During the cheering, Nightpaw had found his way through the throng of cats to sit by Russetfur. "You were gone awfully long yesterday!" he said over the top of the cacophony of voices.

"It took a while to find the catmint!" she replied in a loud, smooth lie. No way was she telling a soul about why it had really taken her so long to return to camp. Much as it hurt to lie to a Clanmate, her own apprentice, they were both better off by this.

After the uproar died down, Russetfur touched noses with Tallpoppy happily. "Congratulations!" Her long-legged sister smiled and bumped noses with Russetfur. "Sorry Raggedstar didn't give you an apprentice, but once Crowtail's kits are old enough, you're pretty much guaranteed one; who else is there?"

A slow smile spread across her sister's face again. "Nope. Raggedstar was going to pick me for Snakepaw's mentor, instead of Rowanpa-claw, Rowanclaw, but I gave him a reason not to..." A glance at her stomach revealed the not-quite-secret completely.

"You're not- Tallpoppy, you aren't pregnant, are you?" A shy nod elicited a gasp from Russetfur. "Well who's the lucky tom?"

Touching her long tail to the dark ginger she-cat's nose jokingly, she replied, "That, dear sister, is for me to know, and you to find out. Maybe. Eventually."

Russetfur glowered. "You're one evil queen." She noticed Nightpaw looking curiously at her, and she said a quick goodbye to her sister, walking over to the fresh-kill pile with her apprentice. "What's with the look, Nightpaw?"

Reluctantly, the tom scuffled his paw in the dirt before speaking. "Nothing. You've just been acting...weird. First you're all silent and then you're like an apprentice, giggling with your sister. And now you're an inquisitor. I don't get it. What's going on?"

Damn him for being so right. "Let's go hunting, Nightpaw." In a lower voice, she told him, "I'll explain there."

"Sure..." he replied half-heartedly. They stood and went out into the territory, silently walking until they reached a point that Russetfur deemed far enough from camp, almost to the tree where she had caught an owl.

Sitting down, Russetfur started an explanation, which turned more into a cascade of information she couldn't keep to herself once she got going. "I found the catmint in a Twoleg yard, and I met a kittypet named Charlie. He was really helpful and he helped carry it a ways from Twolegplace. We play-fought and got pretty side-tracked. He went home, and I was heading to camp when Tigerpaw showed up. Er, Tigerclaw." Nightpaw, a little outraged opened his mouth but she plowed on trough. "I told him to get out of the territory, that he was going to get caught and our warriors would tear him up. And he told me... He said he loved me. He said he wanted to be with me no matter what it meant to the Clans or the rivalry between our Clans. And I told him I could never love him, because it would be breaking the Warrior Code...But I think I do love him! Well, maybe not love but I have feelings for him and it's just stupid stupid stupid. I'm not going to tell him; It's true that I can't ever be with him, so what's the point? It just hurts so much, and I broke his heart..." Nightpaw leaned against her comfortingly.

"It'll be okay. I don't know how yet, but it will. Still, even if you do l-l-love him, you can't be his mate. Not ever. You know that, right? You could be exiled from the Clan. I don't think any cat wants that." His words, if true, only made Russetfur's heart shrivel more, but she was nevertheless glad that she had someone to talk to. Yet how backwards was this, the mentor leaning on the apprentice for comfort? The mentor wasting precious hours playing when she could have been hunting or finding more catmint, while the apprentice did his duties around camp? The mentor, having ridiculous feelings for a cat outside the Clan, when her apprentice was still loyal, comforting her?

Russetfur got to her trembling paws, steeling herself. No more. The backwardness must reverse, now. Nightpaw was her apprentice, not the other way around, and it's time she started acting like it. "Come on. Let's catch some prey for the Clan."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter's almost the exact same length as the previous, and equally crappy. Sorry. However, I think I got it up fairly quickly, given my track record. (Yes, yes, that's what he said. ) Also there will be minor cursing from now on, as well as delving a little bit deeper into the T rating that I gave, but I promise this won't turn into an M fic for all you younger readers. Anyway, the chapters following this should be more exciting than this drabble, Giving you something to hope for! **


	14. Whitepaw

"Russetfur!" a sharp voice came from a fox-length behind her. A half-eaten lizard tail dangling from her mouth, the warrior whipped around. "After the battle with WindClan, you offered to train Whitepaw so she can hunt and defend herself. Littlepaw says it's time she got out of the medicine den, so it's time we took you up on the offer. Take her hunting with Nightpaw today, okay?"Raggedstar asked her, then whisking away without waiting for a reply.

She wolfed down the rest of her lizard and went to the apprentice's den. "Nightpaw?" she called, and a pair of eyes opened and gleamed tiredly back at her from within the shadows. "Get up; you're having a special hunting assignment today." The black tom scrambled to his paws and stumbled over to her, blinking away the sleepiness. "Whitepaw's going to learn to hunt with her eye, and we're going to help her. You'll have to use everything I've taught you about hunting, and catch something to inspire confidence in her."She said the last bit a little jokingly, but it would probably work.

The pair made their way to the medicine den, where Whitepaw was sitting, perhaps quivering a little, in wait. She smiled when she saw them but was too shy to say anything. Nightpaw dipped his head with an easy smile and greeted her. "Hey." Breaking the awkward silence, Russetfur gestured with her muzzle to leave and the two apprentices followed her out of camp. When they reached a particularly wet part of the territory, with a few saplings growing there, the entourage stopped.

Looking at Whitepaw, Rusetfur asked, "Did your mentor ever take you here, Whitepaw?"

Timidly, the apprentice shook her head no. "Littlebird and I focused on battle training mostly." Russetfur dipped her head, unsurprised. With the battle with WindClan so dark above their heads, it was less than shocking that everyone was doing battle training at the time.

"Okay, Nightpaw. What's special about hunting here?" Russetfur asked, quizzing him.

Pausing to think for a moment, he answered slowly, "There is a lot of prey here, because of the water, and the insects attracted to it, as well as all the mud and young trees for shelter, but it can be dangerous because you could get sucked into the mud. And the trees and bendy because it's so damp." He finished with a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes, and yes, but you're forgetting something. Beware the heron and the raccoons." Nightpaw sighed, and Russetfur fixed him with an icy glare. "It's very important. The heron has killed cats before, and you could lose every last piece of your prey before the day is out to the raccoons. Do you want that?" Taking his silence as agreement, she continued. "Like I said. Now, because it's still not prime weather, the heron probably won't give us too much trouble, but you're going to be the prey-guard for the first bit, Nightpaw. If you see a raccoon, let me know so we can fight them off. Them, because where there's one, there's more."

Turning to the female apprentice, Russetfur advised, "I'm not going to bog you down with a bunch of information, since you learn best by just doing it, but since your eyesight is halfway compromised, your depth perception will be off and that makes pouncing on prey further than a tail-length away a real pain in the tail. You'll have to rely on your other senses particularly your hearing, to determine where the prey is. You should still keep your eye open, though, to make sure you aren't jumping into a puddle of muddy water."

Whitepaw dipped her head. "Okay." she said determinedly and sank into a hunting crouch. Looking intently through the grass and sedge, the apprentice spotted a small blackbird. Ears pricked forward, and her mouth open to taste the air. Quickly scanning the space between herself and the bird for hidden dangers, Whitepaw slunk forward silently. When no more than a tail-length lay between them, the white-furred apprentice put her weight on her back legs and sprang for the bird. Giving a loud alarm call, the bird flapped away the second the she-cat reached it, leaving her with a mouthful of tail feathers.

"That's all right, Whitepaw. I didn't catch anything my first time." The apprentice walked back, muttering, "But it's not my first time. I've been an apprentice for longer than any of the others."

Nightpaw stepped forward and laid his tail on her shoulder. "You lost an eye, Whitepaw."

The normally mild apprentice simply shot him a hostile glare. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't know that I'll never be as good as any cat, that I'm not a burden to ShadowClan because I'll never fight or hunt as well, just eat prey and have to be protected and waste herbs? You think I don't know that I'd be better off dead; and that most of my Clan feels the same way? You'd be wrong." she snapped, tears forming in her single eye.

Nightpaw opened his mouth, a little hurt, to apologize, but Russetfur cut him off. "Whitepaw. You are not and will never be a burden to the Clan. Any one of us would give our lives for you in a heartbeat, one eye or two. Maybe one day you will hunt and fight as well as any other cat, that's why I'm doing this. If I didn't believe you could do it, I wouldn't have offered to train you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and focus on training." She reprimanded before adding with a light, teasing tone, "And you know Cedarheart doesn't think you'd be better off dead." Her brother had always displayed a shy affection for the white she-cat, and had been almost as devastated as Whitepaw herself after the battle with WindClan. Both of them were too reserved to really approach it, but they both liked each other since kithood.

Flushed, Whitepaw ignored the last part and said meekly, "Can we do some battle training now?" Nightpaw grinned in anticipation when the dark ginger she-cat dipped her head and headed for the training area. The two apprentices shared a glance before stepping after Russetfur. Nonchalantly, the black tom walked very close to the she-cat, in case she were to stumble or fall. In the end, it was both unnecessary and Whitepaw picked up on it, but they reached the area without quibbling.

The trio came to the dry clearing of grass sheltered by the Burnt Sycamore's branches. "Okay. Whitepaw, you're older than Nightpaw, and therefore bigger and stronger, but you're out of practice and only have one eye. Nightpaw, you're probably a bit faster, maybe, though Whitepaw's a she-cat so it won't be by very much, but you've got all your body parts. Keep your claws sheathed and don't hurt each other. It might seem simple but Foxheart ripped my face open in a training session so things do happen. Be careful. And now... fight. Don't worry about fancy moves just yet, I want to assess your skill."

Circling each other and waiting for the first rush, the apprentices locked gazes. Finally, Nightpaw flung himself forward only to feint back, but Whitepaw was raring for a fight now and slammed into him, chest to chest, and knocked him off his paws. In the figurative blink of an eye, he was back up and slithered between the she-cat's paws to escape her grasp. Before he fully got away, Whitepaw twisted and grabbed his scruff with her jaws, using it as leverage to jump to his side. She put all her weight on her back paws and reared up to use a crushing move, but he crouched,swift as a rabbit, and head-butted her exposed belly, making her tip backward and crash to the ground.

Not finished yet, the snowy she-cat appeared stunned but the very nanosecond that Nightpaw attacked, she came up snapping, eye aglow with the adrenaline of the fight. Escaping her whirling paws, Nightpaw balanced on his front paws and used an explosive back kick, which caught her in the chest, and she half-careened over before regaining her balance. Both cats were panting heavily now, but Whitepaw sprang at him regardless, cuffing the side of his head whit a not-so-gentle foreleg. Taking advantage of the power behind the paw-blow, Nightpaw's head jerked to the side and continued to twist below and he clamped his jaws around her paw with an unrelenting grip, his head twisted upward and Whitepaw balancing on three paws. With a surprised yowl, she jerked back but was unable to free herself until she retaliated by using the slippery dry grass to flip onto her back and kick him, hard, in the stomach. The wind knocked from his lungs, Nightpaw automatically let go.

Shaking her paw once in relief, the white-furred apprentice lunged for him again while he was incapacitated and trying to breathe. He had recovered enough to roll out of the way, and Whitepaw hit the ground where he had been. Getting the oxygen back into his lungs, the black tom reared up to grapple head-to-head with the she-cat, until she managed to twist her back leg between hers and he fell back to four paws. Quickly, Whitepaw swung her head down and grabbed hold of his scruff, tipping him to the side with some effort. Before he could get up again, Russetfur called a halt. "That's enough, guys."

They stopped immediately, their ears pricking up and smiles forming on each of their faces. "Do we have to?" Nightpaw asked, a bit laughingly.

Russetfur rolled her eyes. "Yes. Whitepaw- you seem to remember your training perfectly, as well as being quite good in skill naturally. I think you could have done better, though. And I'm not talking about your eye. I think you, as you are now, could have fought harder. The same goes for you, Nightpaw. You were both holding back a bit, which is good because you don't want to hurt each other but you could have gone a little harder than that. Also, Nightpaw, you keep letting her get a hold on you; she is bigger than you, so you have to dodge and run and jump over lunging and pure power attacks. Whitepaw, don't be afraid to do the same." She instructed, and was glad when neither of them took offense at her advice.

"Now I'm going to attack you, Whitepaw. I'll keep my claws sheathed and I'm not going to break your skin, probably, but past that I will not be holding back so you'd better fight as hard and as best you can." Nightpaw backed away, and the two se-cats faced each other. Their mouths turned up in fierce smiles and their gazes lit with the fire of anticipation, with a twitch of Russetfur's tail, each lunged at the other.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, a filler chapter! Ha ha this does hold important poo that will be used later, but I do admit that it probably wasn't the most interesting thing in the world. The next chapter brings some changes, and also a time-warp! Yay, doesn't everyone just love time-warps? Anyway, I would really appreciate some feedback on this chapter; I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter so I don't know what's going on in your guys' heads! Also, should I or my buddy Coalstar, who expressed a possible interest in this, or us together, do a story on Whitepaw? Not right now, naturally, I have too many stories going at once anyway, but eventually? The next chapter is already in the works, and will almost definitely be up before the week is out. **


	15. Dapple

Whitepaw followed Blackfoot and Foxheart into the camp after returning from a hunting patrol. Moons had passed since the white she-cat started training with Russetfur. In her jaws was a buff-colored sandpiper. Russetfur, sharing tongues with a very pregnant Tallpoppy, looked over in surprise. "Whitepaw? You caught a sandpiper?" The round little birds with their stick-like legs were very hard to catch, given their sharp, keen senses. Their high-speed wings enabled them to fly away in a heartbeat, and the raucous alarm call they gave at a moment's notice made them less of a good source of prey and more of a nuisance.

The patrol dropping the little fresh-kill they had gathered onto the pile, Whitepaw nodded shyly and spoke, now that her mouth was free. "It was more of a fluke than anything, really. The wind was right and this one was probably just really stupid or something." Russetfur rolled her eyes.

"And maybe you need to learn to be proud and confident of your fine catch. You should take it to the nursery, StarClan knows we need all the prey we can get for all those kits. It can be a special treat for them. Make sure you let them know that they'll probably never taste it again since no other cat in the Clan is a good enough one-eyed hunter to get one besides you." Russetfur smiled. "Come to think of it, perhaps I'll just go with you. Tallpoppy?" The tabby queen dipped her head, and all three she-cats grabbed prey for the cats of the very full nursery.

Walking into the small den, Vinekit immediately jumped on Russetfur. "Hi!" she mewed cheerfully. Giving her prey to Hollyflower, Russetfur nodded at Vinekit. Foxheart, who had moved into the nursery only a quarter moon after Tallpoppy, was fast asleep despite the time of day.

"Hi. Vinekit, you've gotten so big! I know I talked to you only a few suns ago, but I think you've grown since then. You're bound to be an apprentice soon, aren't you?" Emerald eyes flashing, the kit nodded happily. Turning her head to Hollyflower and her kits, Russetfur smiled at the younger kits. "And you're all just growing up too, aren't you?" Hollyflower had had a fine litter of perfectly healthy kits; Kinkkit, a she-cat whose tabby fur stuck out in all directions, Dustkit, a she-cat identical to Hollyflower except for her golden yellow eyes, Darkkit, a black she-cat with long fur, and Flamekit, a tiny black she-cat with a white streak running the length of her spine to tailtip and fiery amber eyes.

Tallpoppy's kits were due at any moment, so the apprenticing of Crowtail's kits could not come too soon, especially since Littlecloud judged that Tallpoppy would have a large litter, as was becoming the usual in ShadowClan recently. Their Clan was growing so large that Russetfur wasn't sure if there were enough free mentors to mentor the six kits. However, the time was nearing when Nightpaw and his siblings would become warriors.

While the queens exclaimed over Whitepaw's impressive catch, Russetfur slipped out of the den to speak with Raggedstar, whom she heard talking to Rowanclaw outside. The toms appeared to be mumbling about how Snakepaw's training was coming along, but the ginger she-cat interrupted them casually. "Raggedstar, make I talk to you for a moment?" she asked politely, even though she had just barged in on their conversation.

With a confused nod, the large tom stepped away from her brother and leaned in to hear what she had to say. "Whitepaw caught a sandpiper today." Russetfur informed him, his eyes going wide. "And her fighting skills are amazing; we fought each other the other day and we couldn't tied. Believe me, I was going all out, too. I think you should make her a warrior." Pausing to think, the ShadowClan leader dipped his head.

"You're probably right. We should have the ceremony now, before the sunhigh patrol leaves." The tom bounded over to the Great Pine, and Russetfur hurried back to the nursery. While Raggedstar summoned the Clan, the older she-cat licked a bit of Whitepaw's fur that was sticking up, and smoothed the fur around her scars.

Knowing full well that she was acting like a mother at her kit's apprentice ceremony, Russetfur nudged the white she-cat, though Whitepaw was larger than her, toward the front of the crowd. "Come on!" she said excitedly, giving her sort-of apprentice another quick grooming.

Before Whitepaw could ask what all the fuss was about, Raggedstar started the ceremony. "I, Raggedstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has learned the ways of the Warrior code, and has become a fine example of what a warrior should be, despite the tragic circumstances that left her with only one eye. I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Whitepaw, you have trained longer and harder than any apprentice I know of. Do you promise to uphold the Code, and to protect this Clan and all its members, even at the cost of your own life?"

Whitepaw looked proudly back up at Raggedstar. "I do." she pronounced confidently.

"Then from this day forward, by the power of StarClan, you shall be known as Whitewater. We honor your incredible strength against all odds, and the faith that you not only have you trusted in, but that you have given us all." Russetfur's eyes glowed with immense pride, and she had to restrain herself from sprinting at Whitewater and embracing her. "Whitewater!" the Clan leader called.

Russetfur's voice cracked as she yowled at the top of her lungs, "Whitewater! Whitewater! Whitewater!" and the rest of the Clan joined in. Even though the she-cat had not been Russetfur's apprentice for the first half of her apprenticeship, Russetfur felt almost as close to her as she did to Nightpaw, who was standing next to her, cheering her on. The teary eyed warrior stumbled over to Russetfur, and they twined their tails and pressed against one another in happiness.

Cedarheart walked up in front of them, and gulped loudly before stammering, "C-congratul-lations, Whitew-w-water!" He looked so nervous that he might just pee, but Whitewater boldly stepped forward and licked his cheek, surprisingly asserative for her usual personality.

"Thanks." she replied, while the tom flushed madly. A little more hesitantly, Whitewater glanced at the fresh-kill pile, and asked, still smiling, "Would you like to share prey with me?" Russetfur's brother dipped his head timidly and the pair walked off, Whitewater glancing back once to have Russetfur wink at her encouragingly.

Looking at her apprentice, Russetfur half-grinned. "Just you and me again, I guess."

* * *

Later that evening, after Russetfur and Nightpaw had gone hunting and brought back a good assortment of prey, Nightpaw had retired to the apprentice's den early, and the dark ginger warrior heard a loud screech from the medicine den. Not knowing of any cat that was ill, and thinking it might be Tallpoppy having her kits, Russetfur dashed to the den. Inside was Littlepaw, looking very concerned over a rather distraught and upset Lizardpaw."What's wrong?" Russetfur asked worriedly.

"That Mudclaw! That's what's wrong!" the bad-tempered apprentice spat.

Mildly confused, Russetfur asked, "Mudclaw of WindClan? What did he do?"

Lizardpaw looked ready to claw her eyes out, but she didn't say anything for a long time. "After the Gathering... Mudclaw followed me. He said I was pretty, and then he.. Well, he.. I mean... He forced-" she couldn't finish the sentence, but both Littlepaw and Russetfur understood what she was trying to say.

"And now you're expecting his kits..." Littlepaw murmured, shocked. Russetfur supposed that that would explain the screech of dismay. The warrior herself had been avoiding the Gatherings at all costs since Tigerclaw had told her that he loved her, though she tried to push the thought from her mind at all costs. The times she did go, she buried herself amidst fellow ShadowClan cats, never letting him get close although he saw her a few times.

Shaking her head, Russetfur told the irritable apprentice cautiously, "We have to tell Raggedstar. I don't know what he'll do, but he'll figure something out. " She led the distressed apprentice out of the den and towards that of Raggedstar. When the warrior tried to comfort her, Lizardpaw simply bared her teeth and hissed. There was no making friends with this prickly she-cat, and her experience with Mudclaw probably didn't help anything, especially since he had apparently complimented her, which would be a rare thing for her demeanor. Russetfur didn't know how Cedarheart dealt with her as his apprentice. They couldn't have been worse matched but the pair's time may be coming to an early end.

Raggedstar was half-asleep, but he immediately lifted his head when he heard the cats approaching. "Russetfur, Littlepaw, Lizardpaw. What is the problem?" He knew something was off from their expressions, and was proved correct when Russetfur stepped forward and explained the situation. "Hmmm." he thought when they were finished. "Lizardpaw, I know from Cedarheart that you are a very good fighter, though your hunting skills may need a little work. But what happened to you is not your fault, and I will personally make sure that Mudclaw pays for what he has done. It is against the Warrior Code for an apprentice to have kits, and so I shall make you a warrior. We shall have the ceremony tomorrow, before the apprenticing of Crowtail's kits."

At that moment, while he had just finished speaking, the second screech of the night came from the opposite side of the camp. This time, Russetfur recognized the vice as definitely Tallpoppy's, and she sprang away from the den without a hint of a goodbye. Littlepaw followed with a harried nod of farewell to his leader. Russetfur had already reached the nursery and was crouched next to her sister when Littlepaw arrived with his herbs. The queen was having her kits.

Foxheart's eyes had snapped open and she was now shooing away the other kits, knowing that they probably didn't want to see this. Once they had vacated, the two ginger she-cats stood fearfully next to Littlepaw, who was checking Tallpoppy over. The queen was shuddering and stifling cries of pain, which intensified as the medicine cat told them that the first kit was coming. A slimy bundle was passed to Foxheart with instructions to carefully remove the birthing sac and lick the kit into breathing. The queen did so, and the large tabby tom gulped his first breaths.

A second kit arrived, this time given to Russetfur, who licked the smaller black and white tom until his lungs started to work. A particularly large bundle was passed to the ginger furred sisters, and they discovered that there were two kits inside, identical slender gray toms. Littlepaw, who glanced over to see that there were two kits, looked surprised. "Huh. Runningnose said that happens sometimes, but I've never seen it..." He trailed off when the final kit came. The last was a white she-kit with a few black speckles.

Littlepaw licked her fur furiously, massaging her chest and keeping her warm, but the little kit would not start breathing. After many painful minutes of this, the medicine cat apprentice looked up at Tallpoppy sadly. "I'm sorry, Tallpoppy. She's dead." The tabby queen took the she-kit from him, her eyes wide with shock, as if she didn't believe him.

"Dapplekit." Tallpoppy said in a very low voice, setting the dead kit next to her. The grief in her tone was evident when she closed her eyes and said, "May you find your way to StarClan swiftly, Dapplekit. I love you, and I will meet you one day in StarClan. Goodbye." Giving the kit a lick on the top of her head, she signaled with her tail, and Foxheart gently picked up Dapplekit, taking her away for burial. Looking down at her remaining kits, the tabby thought for a moment.

After a pause, she moved one of the gray toms to the other side, so that the non-gray kits were in between them. "Ashkit." she named the gray tom closest to her head. The tabby was Tanglekit, the white with black ears and underbelly who looked almost backwards was dubbed Icekit, and the other gray was called Cinderkit.

Tallpoppy, finished naming, laid down her head and slept, exhausted. Giving silent glances at each other, Russetfur and Littlepaw left the den while Foxheart let the other queens back in and curled up next to her sister without disturbing her.

* * *

**A/N: I do hope you are all fans of time warps because the chapter after the next employs another one. Normally I don't have them so close together but oh well. Reviews really motivate me, and while I appreciate your reviews, Dragonclaw11, very much, it would be great if some of the rest of you could as well? Please? I'm doing my best to keep the updates timely and good, but if I fail at this, please don't blame me, because I am certainly not perfect. Lastly, Dustkit, one of Hollyflower's kits, is in honor of Dustpelt because I love him :) He's my favorite ThunderClan cat! :D**


	16. Patrol

Russetfur paced around the camp. Lizardpaw- Lizardstripe, now, had been made into a warrior shortly after Whitewater's vigil ended, and word had spread that Crowtail's kits would be apprenticed by sunhigh. After that, Raggedstar was leading a patrol to WindClan, and Russetfur was part of it, or so he had let slip. The patrol was doubling as an assessment for Nightpaw and his littermates.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Raggedstar finally emerged from the shadows of his den and summoned the Clan after jumping to the Great Pine. Crowtail and her litter, all of their pelts glistening with a fresh cleaning, came running, and Russetfur sat down next to Vinekit. She whispered sadly, "I wish Nightpaw was a warrior so you could be my mentor, Russetfur." The warrior licked the kit's ear but did not reply.

"Cats of ShadowClan, you all know what has befallen Lizardstripe, and I have decided to take a patrol, led by myself, into WindClan today. The cats that will join me are Clawpaw, Russetfur, Nightpaw, Oakfur, Brightpaw, Cedarheart, Stumpypaw, and Whitewater. Shadepaw, you will be the runner if we need more warriors. You will stay at Carrionplace and bring more warriors if it comes to a fight. Lizardfang, if that arises, I need you to bring as many as you can but leave a few to protect the queens and kits. That being said, I now approach a happier topic; the apprenticing of Crowtail's kits!" Raggedstar announced.

Vinekit looked at Russetfur excitedly, and the dark ginger she-cat smiled back. "Owlkit, Duskkit, Skykit, Frogkit, and Vinekit. You have reached your sixth moon and it is time for you to become apprentices. May StarClan guide your paws until the day comes when you have strength enough in you to become warriors of ShadowClan. Until then, you shall be Owlpaw, Duskpaw, Skypaw, Frogpaw, and Vinepaw. Cedarheart, because of WindClan, you were deprived of your apprentice. For this, I give you Owlpaw as your next apprentice. Teach him well, and hone his skills until he is as great the warrior who caught his namesake."

Raggedstar winked at Russetfur and Vinepaw nudged her slightly. "Duskpaw, your mentor will be Poolcloud, a she-cat who has proven herself many times as more than just a loving queen- a fierce warrior who would give her life for her Clan. May she pass on those qualities to you." Poolcloud touched noses with the young she-cat, and Russetfur noticed that some gray hairs were showing on her muzzle. Skypaw was apprenticed to Lizardfang, and Frogpaw to Blackfoot. Last was Vinekit. "Jaggedtooth, you did a fine job mentoring Rowanclaw, and I am sure you will do as well in mentoring Vinepaw." The black and white she-cat touched noses with the huge warrior without nervousness, only a fiery determination.

After the cheering that had commenced for the new apprentices had died out, Raggedstar put on a stern face. "Those of you that I just named as apprentices, you will remain in camp until the patrol to WindClan returns, and protect the camp if your mentors order you to. Owlpaw, listen to Lizardfang with Skypaw for now, as Cedarheart will be with us. Patrol, we leave as soon as you have some food in your bellies. Hurry it up!"

Russetfur made her way to the fresh-kill pile, where Whitewater joined her. "StarClan willing, there won't be a battle. But I am afraid." the white warrior told her, quoting Russetfur's own words from the previous battle with WindClan.

"I am too," Russetfur said seriously. Every battle she fought in gave her more injuries, and she had so many reasons to stay in ShadowClan that the last thing she wished for was to join StarClan now. "But with you on our side, Whitewater, those mad-as-hares WindClan cats don't stand a chance." the dark ginger cat tried to cheer her up.

The one-eyed warrior gave a weak smile and the pair spoke no more, eating in nervous silence. As they finished, Cedarheart and Nightpaw joined them, the former pressing against Whitewater comfortingly. The rest of the patrol members were milling about anxiously until Raggedstar rounded them up and left the camp, patrol in his wake, silently.

"Oakfur, Russetfur, flank me. Whitewater, Cedarheart, you're on the fringes. Apprentices, at the back. Shadepaw, we're coming up on Carrionplace, so run ahead and find a place that you can stay hidden, but see and hear us, and run fast if need be. Our lives may depend on it. " Raggedstar ordered, and the cats started to move into position.

Shadepaw said determinedly, "Yes, Raggedstar." She dashed to the Carrionplace, and Russetfur was glad to see that the young she-cat was very swift.

Whitewater and Cedarheart nuzzled briefly, and the gray tom whispered, "You'll be fine. I'll protect you." Whitewater nodded, obviously scared. Normally the tough queen would reject any sort of act like that, as Cedarheart very well knew, but she had lost her eye the last time she fought with WindClan, and it was all too likely that Talltail would be there, as deputy.

Raggedstar signaled, his tail rippling, for the cats to move forward slowly. Quiet as can be, the ShadowClan cats moved across the border and onto the moor. The huge tom was tasting the air, and when they were at the foot of a hill, he seemed to scent something, for he urgently signaled to get down by flattening his tail. Russetfur opened her jaws and she too scented nearby WindClan cats. The wind was not in ShadowClan's favor, so when the voices that had just come into range had cut off abruptly from laughter into alarm, they were not surprised. The cats, probably a hunting patrol since there were only two warriors and a young apprentice, crested the hill.

The cats were Talltail and two Russetfur did not recognize. The WindClan deputy, his long tail poofed up a little from the sight of so many warriors, called down, "Raggedstar! Why have you brought a patrol of your warriors onto WindClan territory?"

Climbing the hill swiftly, his warriors doing the same, Raggedstar looked him in the eye and replied, "Take me to Heatherstar." The she-cat beside the black and white tom flinched.

"Heatherstar died a few suns ago. I am Tallstar now, leader of WindClan." he spoke proudly.

Apparently unable to resist, Oakfur muttered sarcastically, "Really? I thought you were going to lead RiverClan." Raggedstar silenced him with a flick of his tail, but the ShadowClan leader's whiskers twitched in amusement.

"Very well. Tallstar, one of your warriors has committed a heinous crime on one of my apprentices. Her life will never really be the same, and WindClan is to blame. Of course, that's not the first time this has happened, " Raggedstar gestured to Whitewater, who had evidently regained her confidence and was now glaring at Tallstar furiously, her tail whipping back and forth and the fur along her spine bristling. "but I cannot let this continue to happen, especially outside of battle! I want Mudclaw." The dark tabby tom demanded.

Tallstar finally looked away from Whitewater and told him, "While I express my regret for the injuries inflicted on this warrior, I do not believe I know what you are speaking of when you say you want Mudclaw."

"That miserable excuse for a warrior raped Lizardpaw!" Russetfur snapped furiously, before reprimanding herself. She shouldn't have said that, but Raggedstar would have anyway.

The black and white tom's eyes widened. Expecting him to be surprised or angry, the cats were furious when he instead replied, "By this 'Lizardpaw's' word, I presume? More likely she couldn't resist a tom in your own Clan and made this up to cover up her own stupid mistake." His voice was calm, but had a slightly dangerous edge to it.

Yowls of protest came from the entire ShadowClan patrol, but Raggedstar quieted them. "Tallstar, I trust the word of my warrior, and Lizardpaw never wanted kits or showed any interest in any of the toms. She wanted only to be a warrior, and nothing more, and Mudclaw has taken that away from her. I demand that he be punished, or all of WindClan will reap what he has sown in his place." The tom's eyes narrowed to fierce slits, and his claws dug into the ground.

"Is that a threat?" Tallstar inquired, his voice low.

Chin high, the larger of the two toms, stepped forward. "Mudclaw." Raggedstar growled.

"I will not hand over one of my warriors for you to do as you please with him, especially for a crime I doubt he would commit. As you say you do, I trust my warriors." The WindClan leader replied tersely. Unable to handle the infuriating talk that Tallstar was spewing, Clawpaw sprang forward and bit into his shoulder. Swiping his long claws down the apprentice's face, Tallstar took him by the scruff and threw him down. Clawpaw, bleeding heavily, shot back to his paws to attack again, but Raggedstar dragged him back.

Oakfur came forward to restrain Clawpaw, and Raggedstar hissed, "You have three days, Tallstar. If I do not hear of results, my warriors and I will come for Mudclaw." The large tabby turned his back on Tallstar, and the patrol followed him back onto ShadowClan land. Clawpaw stumbled along with the aid of his mentor, as his eyes were clouded with blood.

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**A/N: Sorry sorry for the short, anticlimactic chapter. I couldn't figure out what the hell to do for the last four hundred some words of this, so I just skipped it. Thus the stupid cutoff place. However, now that this lame chapter is over with, I can get to the next major point in the story (I was trying really hard to put it off this long, so while it might STILL be premature, I once had a layout where it took place like five chapters ago... I'll not taunt you anymore. The next chapter (since it actually has a point) should be up pretty quick! Also, don't blame me for how badly screwed up my timeline is; even the Hunters make mistakes- I discovered today that Heavystep, that warrior from RiverClan,_ died three separate times_ in the series! Ha ha, I feel like writing a story about him JUST for that, but I probably won't since it wouldn't make sense anyway. Finally, I am looking for a beta for a story of mine, not one that I've published yet, but don't volunteer if you might flake out on me like my last two betas have. If you feel up to it, let me know. If not, I'll look for someone on the beta search thing. **


	17. Warrior

As the patrol to WindClan returned to camp, a loud screech pierced the air. With a pang, Russetfur realized the cry had come from the nursery, and thought to herself despairingly, _What has happened now?_ Fearing that Tallpoppy or her kits were hurt, she hurtled to the den. Inside, she was shocked to discover that it was Foxheart, having her kits. They weren't due for half a moon, Russetfur worried. The two kits that lay by Foxheart's stomach were quite small, but they appeared to be breathing.

Runningnose, who was crouched by her, stood carefully. "That's the last of them. I know they were born early, but they should be strong and healthy. Send for me if something is wrong." he meowed and exited the den. Foxheart, who looked positively exhausted, looked happily down at her kits. A wide smile spread across her tired face when Cloudpelt entered the den, his tail twitching nervously.

"They're all right?" he asked concernedly, looking down at the pair of kits, one ginger tabby with white flecks and a single white paw, and one white with a single ginger paw. Foxheart nodded, and the fur along his spine lay flat. "What shall we call them?" he asked, sitting down.

Foxheart studied the kits. "They're both she-kits. I think we should name her Sleetkit." She said, nuzzling the mostly white kit. Cloudpelt dipped his head in agreement.

"And perhaps Gingerkit, for her?" The tom suggested. Foxheart smiled and nodded in agreement. "Sleetkit and Gingerkit. Look, they stole each other's paws." he joked, seeing that they each had one mismatched paw, both on their left foreleg. Foxheart laughed, and Russetfur smiled in relief that her sister was alright. As Cloudpelt and Foxheart murmured happily to each other, gazing lovingly at their kits, Russetfur padded silently over to Tallpoppy, across the den. Dusk was setting in, but the tabby queen kept inching further and further towards the mouth of the den as the sun receded.

The dark ginger she-cat dipped her head in greeting and flopped down on the ground beside the queen. "Some day, huh?" Glancing over with kind golden eyes, Tallpoppy nodded.

"Some day. What happened with WindClan?" she inquired, nuzzling one of the sleeping kits when they started twitching.

Letting out a light sigh, the warrior replied, "Heatherstar died. That idiot Tallstar is leader now- the one who hurt Whitewater. He wouldn't give us Mudclaw. Raggedstar said that if he didn't give us Mudclaw before three suns have passed, there will be a battle." As she informed her sister of this, a nervous, frightened part of her curled up in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't scared so much that she would get hurt, but that pointless blood would spilled. Yes, Mudclaw should pay for what he had done, but was it really worth risking the lives of all their warriors?

"Oh, StarClan. I hope we fix everything up with WindClan before my kits are old enough to fight; I don't want them mixed up in this anymore than I want to be." The queen said sadly. As she spoke, the kit who had been twitching opened his eyes. They were a bright gold, like Tallpoppy's, but with a splinter of green in his left eye. "Tanglekit!" Tallpoppy smiled. The tabby kit smiled back up at her.

Tanglekit looked curiously around the den, seeing everything for the first time. His eyes finally landed on Russetfur, and he cocked his head sideways inquiringly. "I'm Russetfur, Tanglekit. Your mother is my sister." The tabby kit dipped his head. His handsome coat gleamed in the sun, and he carefully got to his paws. "Where are you off to?" Russetfur asked lightly. The kit only grinned and started trying to scale her sides. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, sliding down and slipping on the silky fur, he managed to get his paws safely onto her almost-spine. this was the highest point since she was lying on her side. He nimbly scampered toward her head before curling up on the warm fur just above her shoulder, his small warm body heating up Russetfur's neck. He nudged his chin under hers, so that his head was tucked under the warrior's chin.

Tallpoppy blinked amusedly at her kit's antics, a light purr rumbling in her throat. As her sister's kit slept on her neck, Russetfur wondered if she would have kits one day, to run and play and curl up at her stomach-or on her neck, as it were. A strange sense of longing pierced her heart, and she knew that she did want kits, one day. But for now, she had her sights set on keeping her family - and all its new additions - safe. The warm comfort of Tanglekit lulled her to sleep after the tiring events of her day, and Russetfur fell into a light doze.

Before the sun had completely dipped below the horizon, Raggedstar summoned the Clan, making Russetfur jerk awake. Tanglekit slid slowly down to the den floor from the movement, and Russetfur gently placed him next to his mother before trotting out of the den. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and wondered why Raggedstar had called the meeting. Taking her place near the pine, Nightpaw came and sat beside her. The apprentice was easily as big as his mentor, and he wasn't done growing.

"ShadowClan. As you know, I led a patrol to WindClan this sun. Tallstar, the new leader of WindClan, will not hand over the scum Mudclaw. I told him that I will not let his warriors continue to destroy the lives of ours, and that he has three days to give us Mudclaw." Raggedstar told the Clan in his booming voice.

Lizardstripe, sitting angrily at the edge of the crowd, got a slight flash of satisfaction in her eyes. "Also, four of our apprentices are long overdue to be warriors. I would like to hold the ceremony now." Raggedstar continued. Russetfur's eyes widened in surprise as she met gazes with Nightpaw. It had to be him and his littermates! Russetfur swiped her tongue over his ear proudly. This may be the last moment to think of him as Nightpaw. Pride roared inside the warrior like a lion- her apprentice was going to be a warrior! All the effort and training she had put in to make sure he was a credit to his Clan, the friendship she had forged with the black furred tom, it was all paying off because this was one of the best days of her life.

Forgetting all about WindClan, forgetting her worries about becoming a queen, Russetfur focused on this moment, a moment sweeter even then that of her own warrior ceremony, because this...This was something she really made happen. Was this how Hollyflower had felt at her own warrior ceremony? "Brightpaw! Stumpypaw! Nightpaw! Clawpaw! Please step forward." Raggedstar said, pushing all other thoughts from the ginger warrior's mind. "Warrior of StarClan, I ask you to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Oakfur, Foxheart, Russetfur- are you each satisfied that your apprentice has earned the name of a warrior?"

Foxheart, calling loudly from the mouth of the nursery, and Oakfur replied affirmatively at the same time, and Russetfur added fervently a moment later, "Yes." Her green eyes blazed with emotion as they rested on the midnight pelt of the cat that wouldn't be her apprentice for more than a few minutes more.

"I also agree that Clawpaw is ready to be a warrior. By the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names! Brightpaw, you shall be known from now on as Brightflower, in honor of the qualities even StarClan admires in you; your grace and dangerous beauty." The black and white she-cat flushed, but accepted her name proudly, licking Raggedstar's shoulder as the leader rested his head on her muzzle.

The new warrior backed away and Raggedstar continued. "Stumpypaw, you will be known as Stumpytail. StarClan honors your strength and determination." In the brief silence while Stumpytail and Raggedstar exchanged gestures, excitement built its fire higher in Russetfur. _Nightpaw's next_, she thought. She was proved right when Raggedstar spoke again. "Nightpaw!" _This is it_, Russetfur purred mentally.

"From this day forward, you shall be known as Nightpelt, for your dark coat. StarClan respects your loyalty and patience." Russetfur's not-apprentice licked her leader's shoulder, and the she-cat felt as if she was going to explode with pride. Nightpaw- Nightpelt, Nightpelt was a warrior. Clawpaw was named Clawface for the injuries that he had gotten during the day's patrol. Though his face was swathed with cobwebs, you could still see a happy smile on his muzzle, a rather rare occurrence for his temperament.

The Clan cheered for the new warriors, and Russetfur yelled happily, "Nightpelt! Nightpelt!" The black warrior made his way over to her, his amber eyes glowing. "I'm so proud of you, Nightpelt." They crossed their necks and pressed their heads against each other's shoulder comfortingly. Simply smiling happily, Nightpelt licked his friend's ear and went to join Brightflower at the camp entrance for their vigil.

The night was settling in, and Russetfur looked back at the entrance. Four pairs of eyes gleamed there, alert but happy. The four new warriors had finally gotten their names, and they seemed to be a bit wary. Russetfur had felt the same when she had become a warrior; it was a happy occasion but the responsibility that came with it was slightly daunting. Soon enough, those littermates would have apprentices, mates, kits, and they were pretty much all on their own. They had their friends and family, but no cat can help you the first time your apprentice steals prey, or when you fall in love and can't say a word. No cat can help you when you're a new mother or father, with tiny, helpless bundles of life that are completely yours to care for and to protect.

Sadly, Russetfur reflected the loneliness of warriorhood, even in the midst of your own Clan. Peeking back in the nursery on her way to the warrior's den, she saw that Tanglekit was still awake, and sitting shivering a couple tail-lengths from his mother. Russetfur blinked warmly at him, and he nodded back at her. The kit was probably wondering what it would be like when he himself became a warrior, since he had undoubtedly heard the ceremony. The warrior wondered who he would be. Would he be a kind, gentle tom who is as as softspoken as Cedarheart? Or would he be more like Blackfoot, fierce and ready for battle at any moment? What would Tallpoppy's other kits turn out to be? What about Foxheart's? The questions swirled endlessly about Russetfur's mind.

Turning away from the nursery, the she-cat padded softly to the warrior's den. Her nest was still on the outskirts of the den, so she pulled some moss together and made a second nest in the empty space beside her, hoping Nightpelt would know it was for him. Curling up in her own nest, lined with soft moss and a couple of feathers, Russetfur curled up with her tail over her nose and slept, delving into her dreams.

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**A/N: Another short, late chapter. Sorry. Been really busy, and I probably will continue to be throughout the week, since I have State Music Festival coming up. I will hopefully have the next chapter up ASAP but I'm not promising anything. Tanglekit's cute though, isn't he? Just wait :) If I recall correctly (and I must check my little timeline thingy) there will be another timewarp in this next chapter, but I'm not altogether sure... Yeah, I dunno :/ However, what I do know is that we are finally approaching the very exciting part that I started writing this whole damn story for: yay! I'm not saying it's in the next chapter, though it could be, but it will be in the next ten. Ha ha ha ha ha SUSPENSE! Also, does anyone feel the need for a third allegiances what with all the kits, or should I wait a couple chapters for that? Let me know.**


	18. Dust

**A/N: An opening Author's Note! Oh my gosh! Ha ha what brings about this not-very-special occasion you probably wouldn't ask? Well, this is going to be a very long, very eventful, rather confusing chapter. The first half is about a week after where we are now, but the second half is two months later. There will be a split and probably an epic little subtitle to let you know when it happens, I'm just forewarning you. The story really starts kicking now, but don't worry - I'm not even close to done! ;)**

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Russetfur padded away, having been sent hunting by Lizardfang. The deputy, who wasn't getting any younger, seemed to be getting grumpier by the day. Every cat was starting to feel the clinch of hunger; leafbare was a mouse-length away, and it would be harder than ever to feed themselves with so many mouths to feed. Originally, Russetfur had been going on this patrol with Poolcloud and Duskpaw, but they had apologetically bowed out as soon as they were out of earshot of the camp, saying they had to battle train. The ginger warrior didn't know what for, but she just nodded and let them leave.

There was no threat from WindClan any longer; Tallstar had acquiseced for the sake of his Clan and sent Mudclaw into ShadowClan territory. The warrior was happened upon by Raggedstar and Blackfoot, and while Russetfur herself hadn't been there, word was spread that easily fair revenge was exacted by the Clan leader himself. Every time a ShadowClan patrol came to the WindClan border, hisses and curses were thrown, but it was only fair. The brown warrior deserved what he got.

Her footsteps silent and her ears pricked for any trace of prey noise, Russetfur continued to the eastern border. Soon the Twoleg nests were in view, and a thought struck Russetfur. Life was really getting to her, and she couldn't tell anyone everything, not even Nightpelt. However, Charlie was not in the Clan, and she could say anything to him without fear of word being spread and such. There wasn't hide nor hair of prey anywhere, not a whisker of a mouse in sight. It wasn't like she was really doing any harm, and she could pick up more catmint while there. Whitecough and Greencough were a common occurence in leafbare, and with so many kits in the Clan there couldn't be enough catmint.

Justifying her visit mentally, Russetfur trotted more quickly towards Charlie's nest. She let out a purr when she made out his white form sitting on top of the fence. Soon his scent reached her nose and she knew it was him. He obviously hadn't scented her, since the wind was completely in her favor, so she decided to sneak up on her friend. Once she got within clear vision range, she sank into a hunting crouch and crept forward. She reached the base of the fence without the kittypet even twitching an ear, and she grinned. First catch of the day, she thought jokingly. She launched herself up onto the fence right next to Charlie, making his tail poof out comically.

"Hi." Russetfur smiled and Charlie whipped around, tipping dangerously to one side before righting himself. His light green eyes were wide with surprise, but they switched to mostly relieved when he saw it was his warrior friend.

Breathing a soft sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment before replying, "Hello, Russetfur." Gesturing with his head, he leaped down onto the flat Twoleg thing that was several tail-lengths above the ground, but only half the height of the fence. The warrior followed, landing a bit more gracefully than he had. "What brings you here?" Charlie asked, trying to sound cheerful though his eyes darting around nervously betrayed how he really felt.

Tipping her head to one side, Russetfur replied slowly, "I just wanted to talk...But you've obviously got something on your mind. Spill." Dark green eyes met light green for a moment before the huge tom looked down.

"I-it's nothing, really. Just some cats have been harassing me, trying to get me to join their little group. They said they could use my size, but then when I told them I'd rather not, they attacked me! There were only two of them, and they were pretty small, but they were better fighters than you, no offense. If my Twolegs hadn't heard and chased them off, I might not have made it." Charlie explained, head down and his paws kneading the hard surface anxiously.

Russetfur twined her tail with his comfortingly, now noticing the scratches on his pelt. "I'd bet three bits of prey that it was ThunderClan. They're always doing mouse-brained things like that. They shouldn't bother you again if it was just ThunderClan." Charlie glanced up hopefully, then shook his head.

"They didn't smell like Clan cats. They smelled like crowfood, and one of them had a collar with huge teeth stuck in it. It was really scary. I hope they don't come back." The gray and white tom told her, a quaver in his voice.

Careful not to nick his wounds, Russetfur leaned against him. "Maybe not ThunderClan then, though some of their warriors do smell like crowfood sometimes." She smiled, and Charlie returned it weakly. "If they come back, they'll hear from me." she said fiercely when she saw just how scared her friend was. While she knew part of his fear probably stemmed from the soft life he led, there was truth in his tone, and for those cats to scare him this badly, there had to be something amiss.

"Well, what did you want to talk about?" he changed the subject.

Russetfur heaved a sigh. "Nothing that will cheer you up, Charlie." He shrugged and gestured for her to continue regardless. "Well, you can probably tell that the Clans don't generally like each other very much." His whiskers twitched in amusement. "But I have a friend from ThunderClan, who I met at the Gatherings, where all four Clans meet in peace. His name is Tigerclaw. We've been friends ever since I saved him from a fox when he was a kit and I was barely an apprentice.

"We talked at Gatherings and just had a good time...Until the day I met you. After you left, I was going back to camp and Tigerclaw was in ShadowClan territory! He said he had to talk to me, and since I couldn't risk him being seen by other ShadowClan warriors, I complied. He...He told me he loved me. I told him we could never be together because we were in different Clans, and I made him go back to ThunderClan territory. But I think I might love him too." Charlie looked stunned and a bit confused. Before he could speak, Russetfur continued. "But it just gets worse. My sisters both have a bunch of kits now, and I keep feeling like I should have kits of my own. I know I could never be mates with Tigerclaw, and the only other tom in my whole Clan that I even like besides Littlepaw is Nightpelt, and he definitely doesn't feel the same way.

"I don't really like him like that, but he is my friend and was my apprentice, so I feel really connected to him." The ginger warrior babbled. Charlie licked her between the ears, a sad smile on his face.

Looking her in the eyes, he told her carefully, "Looks like you're in quite the pickle. This Tigerclaw character looks a bit shady, showing up on your territory, especially if things are as tense between Clans as it seems. As for Nightpelt... Be careful. He might see you as just a friend. Or just as his mentor. Er, ex-mentor. But what about this Littlepaw? Who's he?"

"He's... the medicine cat apprentice. They're not allowed to have mates." Russetfur said. The fact didn't really hurt her; she saw Littlepaw as more of a brother than a potential mate. Charlie nodded and started grooming her fur. She reciprocated the simple act, feeling her heart warm with the contact. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so unbidden. But as time flew past inconsiderately, the warrior had to leave. "I should probably get going, Charlie. I'm supposed to be hunting."

As she stood up, the kittypet asked a bit sadly, "When will I see you again?" His light green eyes looked frightened again, as if once she were gone there was nothing to protect him from the mysterious, harassing Twolegplace cats.

"I don't know. Things have been really tough lately, and there's little food to be had, not to mention the other Clans being pissed at us. I'll come back the moment I have time, but don't worry if it's a while. Still, if those cats are really getting serious... It'll be dangerous, but you can try to come find me in my territory. I'd be out that way." Russetfur gestured with her tail in the direction of the camp, knowing the risk she was taking by doing so. Charlie nodded, swiped a tongue over her ear, and let her go.

As the dark ginger warrior sped away on her delicate, dangerous paws, a loud wail came from inside Charlie's nest. The large tom narrowed his eyes and growled, "That damned kitten!" He then jumped down from the fence to quiet the young cat before its cries brought back those dog tooth cats.

Meanwhile, Russetfur traveled back to the camp, only managing to pick up young mouse and a scrawny frog on the way. Upon her arrival, she saw that the fresh-kill pile was completely empty. Ignoring her growling stomach, she dropped the mouse on the pile and started to carry the frog to the nursery. Tallpoppy sat outside, talking to Tanglekit, while her other kits romped a few tail-lengths away. The tabby queen's tail was twitiching nervously, or perhaps irritatedly, as she seemed to snap at Tanglekit.

Russetfur dropped the frog at her sister's paws and asked, "What's going on?"

"Tanglekit won't talk." Tallpoppy said in a low voice, a tremor in her words telling of her anxiety. "All of the others have, most of them never stop. Even Foxheart's kits have started talking, but he won't. Or can't." Tanglekit looked down at his paws. Russetfur padded over to him and lifted his chin by tickling his neck lightly with her tail. Unable to resist the tickling, his face spread into an accidental smile, and his mouth as opened as if he were laughing, yet no sound came out save for a rasping of air.

The sisters exchanged a worried glance, which Tanglekit saw and the smile faded from his lips. "Try and say something, Tanglekit. Do you understand?" The kit's eyes met with Russetfur's as she asked him this. He nodded before squeezing his eyes closed and opening his mouth. His lungs filled with air, and he jutted his head forward as he tried desperately to make some kind of noise. The air came out in a broken, loud rasp, but not a squeak, cry, or word came out. Turning to the queen, Russetfur said slowly, "I think we should see Runningnose about this."

Tallpoppy bit her lip, indecisive. Russetfur understood that the queen didn't want their to be anything wrong with her kit, but obviously something was going on and if it could be fixed, then every cat would be better off. Finally, her sister dipped her head, got to her paws, and gestured for Tanglekit to follow her. At a nod from Tallpoppy, Foxheart took the frog for herself and swallowed in a few quick bites, keeping an eye on Tallpoppy's other kits.

The three cats plodded to the medicine den slowly. Only Littlepaw appeared to be in the den, so Russetfur sat down in front of him and nudged Tanglekit forward. The kit stumbled forward, looking worried. "Tanglekit can't talk." Russetfur said simply, and Tallpoppy nodded to back her up.

Littlepaw frowned in response. "Are you sure he's not just shy or quiet? Tanglekit, it's okay to talk around me, okay? If you want, I won't tell any other cat." The kit just rolled his eyes and tried to talk again, as if trying to prove he wasn't pretending. Littlepaw's whiskers twitched. "Okay then. Can you laugh? Purr? Whisper? Squeak? Anything?" Tanglekit shook his head, then tried to do each of these things. When the kit tried to purr, a slight burbling sound came out, and he jumped. He tried it again, and the noise was similar to the rasping of air that came out when he tried to talk, only in a smooth, rolling motion.

He smiled, but Littlepaw's frown only deepened. "Tallpoppy, I wouldn't lose hope, because he still has plenty of time to develop, but you should be prepared, as Tanglekit is likely mute." Tanglekit glared furiously at Littlepaw when his mother gave a small cry of despair, but the medicine cat apprentice only looked back at him sadly.

A moment later, Yellowfang slipped out of the shadows of the back of the den and snapped, "What are you crying about? Most kits never shut up. Consider yourself lucky. You'll never have to listen to the little brat whine about being hungry in your life." Tallpoppy looked stung, but Russetfur was furious.

"What do you know, you old hag? You'll never have kits of your own, so you're the one who should shut your mouth!" Russetfur hissed at the cat, sick of her nasty sniping. The gray she-cat opened her mouth as if to negate something she had said, before closing it and walking to the back of the cave, muttering something about parsley. Slightly, strangely disappointed by the vile cat's lack of response, Russetfur's tail twitched irritably, but she calmed her tone to say, "Come on, Tallpoppy, Tanglekit." She led her sister and nephew out of the den, wondering how Tanglekit could lead a normal life if he could never cry for help, tell a she-cat he loved her, or tell any stories.

* * *

_Two moons later..._

"From this day forward, you shall be known as Flamepaw, Dustpaw, Darkpaw, and Kinkpaw." Raggedstar told the three she-cats. Russetfur sat near the back of the crowd, in between Hollyflower, her ex mentor and the mother of the new apprentices, and Runningnose. Gingerkit sat in between Russetfur's paws, seeing off her denmates, and Sleetkit was not far off. "Flamepaw, your mentor will be Featherstorm. She has taught several apprentices, and I know she will be a good mentor once again." The queen stepped forward to touch noses with the young she-cat, her tail held proudly.

Russetfur glanced down at Gingerkit and licked the top of her head warmly. While happy for the Clan to have new apprentices, she felt weary of all the ceremonies, happening too often fro them to be much of a treat. "Dustpaw, Russetfur will be your mentor." At the leader's words, Russetfur jerked into awareness. Raggedstar hadn't told her he was giving her Dustpaw as an apprentice! "She taught Nightpelt and Whitewater well, and she will surely do the same for you." The ginger warrior quickly stood and padded forward to touch noses with her new, unexpected apprentice.

She couldn't help but notice that Dustpaw looked a little displeased as she went back to sit with Gingerkit, who was looking up at her admiringly. Kinkpaw was apprenticed to Crowtail and Darkpaw to Brightflower, and the Clan cheered for the new apprentices. Once the calling stopped, Gingerkit circled her paw excitedly. "You're Dustpaw's mentor! She's so lucky!"

As she said this, a small 'hmmph' came from somewhere to the left of them, quite possibly from Dustpaw herself. Russetfur shrugged it off, though she was a little unnerved. Raggedstar approached her, and Russetfur sat up straight.

Before she could say anything, Raggedstar said simply, "Take Dustpaw to Carrionplace and find some prey. The elders and queens are hungry, and Dawncloud's kits will be here in a moon, so she needs all the prey she can get." Dawncloud had moved into the nursery, and Stumpytail was now training Brownpaw, and since the queen was somewhat older than all the other queens, she wasn't eating very much, saying that the younger queens needed it more. Featherstorm, Dawncloud's remaining littermate, was still trying desperately to get her to eat more.

Russetfur stood again, and Dustpaw made her way over with a bitter expression, having overheard. The warrior nuzzled Gingerkit before leaving camp with the apprentice that so resembled her old mentor. Once they were most of the way to Carrionplace, Russetfur asked slowly, "Is something wrong, Dustpaw? You look...angry."

The gray and black she-cat continued leaped ahead of Russetfur to turn and look her in the eyes. "I don't like you."

This surprised Russetfur a little, but she was perfectly calm in asking, "Why is that?"

"Because everyone thinks you're perfect." Dustpaw said, as if it should be obvious. "Because even though there are plenty of ShadowClan warriors that could best you in a fight or catch more prey, and have seniority over you, every cat thinks you'll be the next deputy. Because you're considered Whitewater's mentor even though Littlebird was her real mentor. Because you stick your nose where it doesn't belong! Because just since you know who my father is, you can hold it over Hollyflower like a curse!" The apprentice was nearly shouting by the end of it, and Russetfur was slightly stunned.

In slow, broken phrases, Russetfur responded guardedly, "I don't hold the identity of your father over Hollyflower like a curse. I have never threatened to reveal her secret. I only told her that I disapprove. Cats aren't supposed to have mates from other Clans. I also know that I'm not the best fighter or hunter in the Clan, and while I don't deny that I hope to walk in my father's footsteps one day, I doubt I will be the next deputy. And not everyone thinks I'm perfect. Blackfoot hates me."

Dustpaw snorted. "Only because he likes you and knows you would never be his mate. Couldn't you tell?" Russetfur's jaw dropped at this little tidbit. "Wow." The apprentice rolled her eyes at her mentor's obliviousness. "Look, I still don't like you and I probably never will, so let's just get on with the hunting." She snapped, falling back into place as Russetfur led her the rest of the way to Carrionplace.

While the dark ginger she-cat taught Dustpaw the basics of hunting tersely, the young cat noted several pairs of eyes gleaming from all around them. Their identities were revealed when a huge rat scurried forward from the darkness, very visible against the light snow that had fallen. Dustpaw jumped back, but Russetfur pounced on it. The rat squealed in surprise and tried to fight back, but the warrior already had her teeth around its neck, and it didn't stand a chance. In a few moments, the rat was dead.

Russetfur stepped forward to walk back to Dustpaw, but two rats came from a pile of crowfood and sank their teeth into the warrior's leg and chest. Dropping the kill with a yowl of surprise, she tried to shake them off unsuccessfully. Now clawing at the rat whose fangs were still embedded into her foreleg, Russetfur managed to get it to back away. Dustpaw came forward to help, recovering from the shock, but Russetfur blocked her from getting any closer. The warrior managed to arch her neck so that she could get her own teeth into the second rat, who then squealed, let go, and ran off, the first limping behind.

"Let's go." Russetfur said, trembling slightly and her eyes wide. Dustpaw said nothing, only picked up the rat her new mentor had killed and followed her back to camp.

The camp was silent, with dusk setting in. Though usually apprentices would be around camp, play-fighting, and warriors talking, only three cats were visible in the whole camp; the rest were likely in their dens. Remembering Dawncloud, Russetfur took the rat to the nursery, wondering what was going on. Just outside, she could hear raised voices, and she paused, quieting her breathing. Russetfur heard Lizardstripe ask scathingly, "What is _that_?"

The queen had had her two kits, named Dirtkit and Ratkit, only two days before, which only aggravated her hostile demeanor. "It's a kit." Came Yellowfang's voice, and Russetfur tilted her head to one side. She swore she had heard a male voice, not Yellowfang's. And more importantly, what kit?

"It's my kit." The voice she had heard earlier sounded, and Russetfur's eyes widened. Raggedstar!

A snort, muffled by the walls of the den, was followed by Lizardstripe's sarcastic response, "Oh, yes? What a miracle. If I'd known toms could have kits, I would have made Mudclaw have these brats of mine himself." An impatient sigh was followed by Raggedstar saying something in a low voice that Russetfur couldn't quite make out. "What kind of mouse-brained nonsense is that?" Lizardstripe asked loudly, her voice coming through clear. "Why should I have to put up with another mewling lump of fur? I didn't ask for these kits, either, but you don't see me dumping them on some other cat. It's not my job to take care of every unwanted kitten in the Clan." Russetfur saw the queen's logic, but she was desperately curious to know what Raggedstar was going to do if Lizardstripe wouldn't take care of the kit.

"He is not unwanted. He is my son, and I will always claim him as my own. You are being given a great honor, you unworthy cat. Who wouldn't want to be the mother of the Clan leader's son- and perhaps the future leader of the Clan himself?" Raggedstar spat, and Russetfur's pelt stood on end. He couldn't make a cat deputy or leader just because they're his kit! She couldn't stand just listening anymore, so she barged in the nursery with her rat.

Her eyes widened in mock surprise when she saw Yellowfang and Raggedstar with the dark brown, long-furred kit. It's ears were flat against its head, and its tail was bent in the middle like a broken branch. "What's going on?" she asked in fake curiosity, setting down the rat.

"This ungrateful cat is refusing to take care of my kit." Raggedstar growled, while Lizardstripe interrupted him.

"It's not my responsibility! I didn't want these kits, and I don't want yours!" she hissed before Raggedtsar could finish.

Russetfur stepped in between them. "Raggedstar! It might not be my place, but I am shocked that you would speak in such a way to Lizardstripe, after all she's been through especially because she just had her kits! Lizardstripe, while I am sorry about what happened to you, do you really want to have the blood of the Clan leader's kit on your paws? It's obviously too young to eat prey, and you're the only nursing queen. Without you, it will die."

Lizardstripe sat up sharply and took the kit from Yellowfang, placing it at her stomach and closing her eyes pointedly. She was not asleep for her tail waving back and forth furiously, but Raggedstar was evidently satisfied. Letting out a huff of air, Russetfur took the rat over to Dawncloud, who was minding her own business across the den. With a pang, the dark ginger warrior wondered if Dustpaw was right about her poking her nose where it didn't belong.

"I brought this for you, Dawncloud. And only you. Featherstorm will claw my ears off if you don't eat it." She smiled, but the queen only stared down at the prey morosely. "Hey, what's wrong?" The two she-cats weren't really friends, but Russetfur had talked to her on occasion, and she was normally rather carefree.

The pretty tabby she-cat looked up at her pityingly. "Didn't you hear?"

Russetfur's fur once more lifted in fear. Was there some other reason the Clan was so quiet? She shook her head no, and a tear fell from Dawncloud's eye as she said shakily, "Archeye is dead."

* * *

**A/N: =( I dislike ending on a sad note. Poor Archeye. Okay, happier topics. Er, not really. Sorry this chapter was so tremendously long. Or is that a good thing? I dunno. I probably should have split it in two, like I said earlier, but I'm far too lazy. Also, I used some direct quotes from the books, sorry. I know that last scene about Raggedstar and Lizardstripe didn't go exactly as it did in the books, but this story is so full of errors and whoopsies that what's one more? I haven't decided yet but there's either going to be a big time warp the next chapter or I'll push that down one and have a filler chapter about Archeye and Dustpaw. Speaking of which, I was getting awfully Mary Sue ish with having most cats be fond of Russetfur, so I had to throw in a little adversity, though don't worry, every cat hates her by the time she's a deputy. Lastly, I dislike Yellowfang, which is why she's kind of a (forgive my language) heinous bitch in this. Sorry. More on that later, I have to go so I'll post this and go away now. **


	19. Allegiances 3

**Leader:** **Raggedstar **- huge, muscular dark brown tabby tom with ragged, patchy fur, yellow eyes, and a shredded ear

* * *

**Deputy**: **Lizardfang** - light brown tabby tom with one hooked tooth

Apprentice, **Skypaw**

* * *

**Medicine Cat:** **Runningnose** - small, gray-and-white tom with amber eyes and a constantly running nose

Apprentices, **Yellowfang** and **Littlepaw**

* * *

**Warriors:** ******Poolcloud - **gray and white she-cat

Apprentice, **Duskpaw**

**Blackfoot**- large white tom with huge, jet-black paws, darker ears, and a long tail

Apprentice, **Frogpaw**

**Wetfoot **- gray tabby tom

**Jaggedtooth** - large, ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, **Vinepaw**

**Oakfur** - small brown tom with yellow eyes

**Russetfur** - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, **Dustpaw**

**Featherstorm** - brown tabby she-cat

Apprentice, **Flamepaw**

**Hollyflower** - dark gray and white she-cat

**Rowanclaw** - dark ginger tom

Apprentice, **Snakepaw**

**Cedarheart** - dark gray tom

**Cloudpelt** - white tom with pale blue eyes

Apprentice,** Shadepaw**

**Whitewater** - long furred white she-cat with one blind eye

**Stumpytail** - brown tabby tom with a short tail

Apprentice, **Brownpaw**

**Brightflower** - black and white she-cat

Apprentice,** Darkpaw**

**Clawface** - brown tom with yellow eyes

**Nightpelt** - lean, black tom with amber eyes

**Crowtail**- skinny black tabby she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, **Kinkpaw**

* * *

**Queens:  
**

**Lizardstripe** - light brown tabby she-cat with a white underbelly and yellow eyes, mother of **Mudclaw's** kits, **Dirtkit** and** Ratkit**, adoptive mother of **Raggedstar's** kit, **Brokenkit**

**Tallpoppy** - long-legged light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, mother of ?'s kits, **Cinderkit**,** Ashkit**,** Tanglekit**, and** Icekit**

**Foxheart** - bright ginger she-cat with pale green eyes, mother of **Cloudpelt's** kits,** Gingerkit** and **Sleetkit**

**Dawncloud** - small tabby she-cat, expecting ?'s kits

* * *

**Apprentices: Yellowfang **- battle-scarred, dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face, and orange eyes

**Littlepaw** - undersized brown tabby tom with light blue eyes

**Skypaw**- large gray and white tom with green eyes

**Duskpaw** - gray she-cat with a white-tipped tail and gray-blue eyes

**Vinepaw** - black and white she-cat with emerald green eyes and a long tail

**Frogpaw** - white tom with light gray speckles and bright green eyes

**Owlpaw** - black tom with white speckles, ultra black tabby stripes, and striking amber eyes

**Brownpaw** - brown tabby tom

**Snakepaw **- dark brown tom with a tabby-striped tail

**Shadepaw** - black she-cat with a white blaze on her chest, white paws and tail

**Dustpaw -** dark gray and white she-cat with golden eyes**  
**

**Flamepaw -** tiny black she-cat with a white streak running the length of her spine to tailtip and fiery amber eyes

**Darkpaw** - long-furred black she-cat

**Kinkpaw** - tabby she-cat with long, unkempt fur that sticks out at all angles

* * *

**Elders: Littlebird** - small, ginger tabby she-cat

**Stonetooth -** thin gray tabby tom with long teeth

* * *

**Kits: Gingerkit - **ginger tabby she-kit with white flecks and one white paw**  
**

**Sleetkit - **white she-kit with a single ginger paw**  
**

**Tanglekit - **mute, light brown tabby tom with green eyes**  
**

**Icekit -** white tom with black ears and a black underbelly**  
**

**Cinderkit -** thin gray tom with blue eyes**  
**

**Ashkit -** thin gray tom with blue eyes**  
**

**Dirtkit - **pretty mottled brown she-cat with cerulean blue eyes**  
**

**Ratkit -**brown tom with green eyes**  
**

**Brokenkit - **large, long-furred dark brown tabby tom with a bent tail

* * *

**Other Cats:**

**Charlie** - large pale gray and white tom with light green eyes, Kittypet

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if this got your hopes up for two chapters right in a row but hey, you still get one, right? Anyway, if I made any mistakes, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me, because there isn't going to be another allegiances for a while, and I use this for my own reference. Oh, and since someone asked in a PM, yes Cinderkit and Ashkit are twins, and YES cats can have them. Not two in a litter but in from the same egg and whatnot. Now go read the real chapter!  
**


	20. Cunning

Russetfur crouched by Archeye's still form in the center of the camp. Snow was falling silently around her, but her body sheltered the remains from the white flakes. The rest of the camp had gone to sleep, so that only herself and the elders remained. Littlebird crouched, eyes closed, with her nose pushed into her mate's fur, her muscles as tense as an apprentice before their first battle. Stonetooth, on the other hand, had completely broken down, and was on the ground next to Russetfur, tears leaking from his clouded eyes.

Archeye was Stonetooth's only kit, and Berryflight, the gray elder's mate and Archeye's mother, had long since passed. With Cedarstar gone, the only blood relations Stonetooth had now were Russetfur and her littermates, and they were never close. The tom was much older than his son had been, yet the ex-deputy wasn't the one on his way to StarClan. Since most kits and apprentices went to Littlebird for stories, due to his fur-half-fallen-out appearance, and with Archeye gone, the tom had nothing to keep going on for.

Her ginger fur almost white with snow, Littlebird trembled with loss. She, too, had lost most of her family, and Hollyflower was always busy with her kits, even now, when they were apprentices. Archeye had been her mate since the two of them were young warriors, and had been friends since kithood. She could barely wrap her mind around the fact that he was gone. So she sat, quivering, wondering why StarClan had taken him.

Russetfur kept her nose pushed into his fur. The two hadn't been close, but his death, which struck as swiftly as a WindClan rabbit, made the warrior realize that this could happen to any cat. It could happen to Nightpelt, Vinepaw, Tanglekit - anyone. Even herself. Runningnose could only determine that the gray tom had died of old age, but many cats then wondered why Stonetooth wasn't the dead one, if that was the case. Russetfur thought it was simply his time to join StarClan - and that sooner or later, it would be hers.

Halfway through the night, Hollyflower joined the four silent cats, crouching between Russetfur and her mother, Littlebird. Her eyes were hollow with grief, and her claws never retracted for her anger. At a time like this, the queen found it nearly impossible to not be angry at StarClan. First, she had fallen in love with a cat that would never be accepted, then to have his kits and raise them in her own Clan, only to have judgment cast upon them by those who thought they knew.

Time stretched on, and by the time the sun peaked over the horizon, Russetfur had sunken into a stupor, blankly staring at Archeye's stripes and never twitching a muscle. As the dawn patrol started to collect themselves, Stonetooth shakily got to his paws. Littlebird stood after him, and then the two she-cats. Archeye's father and his mate carried him out of the camp, the tip of his back paw dragging in the snow.

Russetfur shook herself, partly to ride herself of the snow that had caked her fur throughout the night, and partly to come back to the world. Remembering that she was to be part of the dawn patrol, Russetfur forced her paws to move in the direction of the other warriors that would be going; Cloudpelt, Crowtail, and Blackfoot. Deciding not to wake Dustpaw, she followed Crowtail silently as she led the patrol. Cloudpelt and Blackfoot fell into step on either side of Russetfur, and she couldn't help but wonder for a moment if what Dustpaw had said about Blackfoot was true.

ShadowClan territory was covered in snow, deep enough in some places for even Crowtail's long legs to sink in almost completely. Russetfur's breath swirled about in the air visibly, opaque. The ginger warrior fell into a stupor, watching the even exhales of foggy air, and the rhythm of her paws sinking quietly into snow at the rear of the patrol, her green eyes staring blankly at Cloudpelt, preceding her, as his white form became almost invisible against the white snow. She snapped out of this only when Crowtail suddenly paused, tasting the air.

She followed suit, and detected a scent of WindClan. It was fresh, and close, but they were too close to Carrionplace to determine if it was a trespasser or an innocent border patrol. The warriors exchanged glances of suspicion, Russetfur's hollow stare coming alive for a while. Too soon, her eyes glazed over again and time passed slowly, her thoughts tortured and sad.

Upon her arrival in camp, she found that Dustpaw had been assigned to work with the medicine cats for the day. Knowing that the Clan needed fresh-kill over anything else, Russetfur set back out into the snow to try and find prey for her Clanmates. The snow had started falling faster and thicker and now, making lack of visibility an increasing problem. The warrior, still numb from loss and shock on the inside, focused on using her nose and ears to detect any trace of prey in place of her eyes.

No creature seemed to be stirring for the cold, and it was a very long time before Russetfur found any hint of life. Her extremities lacked any feeling, past the point of feeling the icy bite of freezing, when she scented sparrow. Russetfur immediately sank into a hunting crouch. Peering desperately through the blinding snowfall, she caught a tiny flash of brown two fox-lengths away. Cursing mentally that the one piece of prey she should find would be a tiny sparrow that she may not even catch for the distance, she crept forward ever so cautiously.

When she got to where Russetfur figured was within leaping distance, the warrior narrowed her eyes and sprang through the snow in a valiant leap, nearly sailing through the air with the force she put behind her jump - only to fall short. The bird let out a raucous alarm call, warning any possible prey in the vicinity and flew away in a flash of feathers. Russetfur spat furiously, giving chase to the bird, running below it as it flew, knowing it would have to land somewhere. Yet the bird kept flying, nearly effortlessly, through the clouded sky.

Panting and exhausted, the cat finally stopped running and fell face-first into a small drift of snow. She lay there a few moments, enveloped by cold and white, before sitting up to be stabbed by the bitter wind. She felt a wetness at her paws, and nosed away the snow to see that the heat from her paws had dissolved a bit of ice that she had accidentally sat on. She swept more snow away with her back paws and found that she was really standing on a large puddle, about three mouse-lengths deep and almost two fox-lengths across. Under the ice, which didn't extend to the bottom of the small pool, was a frog.

It appeared to be very weak or asleep, and it was large and fat. Wondering if StarClan was punishing her for having feelings for Tigerclaw, Russetfur growled at the fact that a fat piece of prey was just out of her reach, just like the sparrow. Pausing for a moment, Russetfur decided she would get the frog if it meant digging it out with her teeth. brushign off the rest of the snow with her legs and tail, she stepped forward on the slippery surface so that her back legs were just in front of were the frog barely moved.

Russetfur jumped straight into the air, stiffening her back legs and slammed back into the ice. The surface cracked with a sound louder than anything Russetfur had heard, and frigid water splashed onto her back paws, even as the force traveled up through her legs and into her spine. The warrior whipped around and slid her paw through the crack in the ice before it could close. The freezing water stabbed at her skin like needles, soaking through her thick fur instantly.

She extended a claw to sink into the frog's neck, killing it, and dragged it toward the fissure in the ice. Managing to get the dead creature out of the ice, a slow smile spread across her face. Maybe her frog would only feed one cat, and maybe only for a while, but she had gotten the prey in spite of a tricky situation, and it made her remember that she was ShadowClan, that maybe she wasn't as good of a hunter as a cat from another Clan, but her cunning was what got her this frog, and it was cunning that would get ShadowClan through the leafbare.

* * *

**A/N: Didja notice? Didya didya didya? There's something very stylistically special about this chapter :) It's pretty obvious, but that's alright. I don't think there'll be another chapter in this story with the same something special, mostly because it was surprisingly difficult. Also, I'm sorry this is short, and that pretty much nothing happened at all, but I needed this chapter for reasons that will be clear later on. Twenty chapters! (That's not the special thing) Three of them don't really count (allegiances, prologue, etc.) but still! This is eight chapters longer than my longest story on FF, so I am very proud. In size twelve font with regular margins, this fic is eighty three pages. Eighty three! :) Okay, done being arrogant now. I don't remember what happens in the next chapter, but I think it's happy...happier...Review if you love Russetfur :3**


	21. Civil

_4 moons later..._

* * *

"Brokenpaw, I will mentor you. You have gotten into fights in the nursery, so I know you will be a great fighter." Raggedstar said, touching noses with his son- who was now his apprentice. Russetfur felt like shouting at Raggedstar's blatant disregard for the warrior code. Cats don't mentor their kits, no matter if you're leader of the Clan or not. Not to mention that the misguided tom was actually proud of his son for hurting his denmates, and practically encouraged the other kits to follow suit.

The Clan cheered for the apprentices that had been named - Brokenpaw, Dirtpaw, Ratpaw, Gingerpaw, and Sleetpaw. Lizardstripe's kits, Dirtpaw and Ratpaw, had been apprenticed to Wetfoot and Clawface, respectively, while Gingerpaw was apprenticed to Oakfur and Sleetpaw to Rowanclaw. Rowanclaw's previous apprentice, who was now Snaketail, had been made into a warrior several suns earlier. Skypaw, Duskpaw, and Frogpaw had been made warriors the same day; they were now Skyheart, Duskfeather, and Frogclaw. Skyheart even had his own apprentice now; Icepaw. Tallpoppy's kits were apprenticed the day after Duskfeather became a warrior. Cinderpaw was being trained by Poolcloud, Ashpaw by Blackfoot, and, Russetfur was most proud, Tanglepaw was being mentored by Whitewater.

Though the tom couldn't speak, Raggedstar decided he could still train to be a warrior, and if he proved himself, then he would be a warrior. And who better to teach a cat with a disability than Whitewater, having her one eye? Russetfur couldn't deny that she was suspicious of Raggedstar trying to take care of two problems in a single blow - maintaining Whitewater's warrior status without hindering a fully capable apprentice and letting Tanglepaw train without wasting the time of a fully capable mentor - but her sister's kit would prove himself, and Whitewater too.

Lost in thought, Russetfur jerked sharply as she was jostled by some cat going to the freshkill pile. Twitching her tail irritatedly, the dark ginger she-cat saw that it was, naturally, Blackfoot. The warrior narrowed her eyes, and called, "Jerk!" The tom didn't turn, but she knew he heard for the irritated flick of his snow-white ears.

"Russetfur..." Raggedstar's voice chided from behind her. "Don't taunt poor Blackfoot so. He's having enough trouble with you as is."

The she-cat bristled. "What in StarClan do you think you're saying?" she asked hostilely, knowing the answer. Her leader only chuckled.

"Skyheart!" He called to the blue-eyed warrior. "You'll lead the dusk patrol, in place of Lizardfang. Russetfur, Dustpaw, Foxheart, and Nightpelt will be going with you. " The tom nodded, his eyes sparkling at the chance to lead a patrol. "And for StarClan's sake, you lot, if you see Lizardfang while you're out there, tell him to get his furry butt back here. He's been hunting since dawn!"

Russetfur held back a sigh. No matter how hard she tried, Dustpaw still was very reluctant to even speak on friendly terms with her mentor, so it was never exactly a lot of fun to patrol with her. "C'mon, Foxheart." she said to her sister, who had found her way over. " 'We lot' had best get going." she muttered, making fun of Raggedstar's funny little phrases. The bright ginger cat snorted, and they padded over to Skyheart. The young warrior had his chest slightly puffed out with pride, though he had never been as arrogant as Frogclaw, but he still dipped his head when the two senior she-cats came up to him, as if he couldn't help it.

Nightpelt and Dustpaw joined them in a moment, and the five cats set off. Skyheart was in the lead, Foxheart and Dustpaw behind him, and Russetfur and Nightpelt bringing up the rear. "Well hello, former apprentice!" Russetfur said in mock surprise at his being at her side.

"Hello, former mentor!" he replied with equal pretend enthusiasm. "How're things? We haven't spoken much lately."

The ginger cat dipped her head." I miss Archeye. And Greenkit won't leave me alone, but I'm alright. We do need to talk more though. I miss you."

"I miss you too. And Greenkit will be an apprentice eventually and she won't have time to bother you. Besides, I thought Maplekit was the one badgering you yesterday?" Nightpelt inquired.

She let out a sigh. "That was Maplekit. But it's usually Greenkit. I don't understand it really. They're Dawncloud's kits, you'd think they would rather bother Featherstorm or, well, you."

"Does Lilykit bother you as well?" Nightpelt asked, referring to the kit that had stumbled into ShadowClan territory. No cat could figure out where she came from, and the only thing she ever said was her name; Lily. She was too old to nurse, but still a kit. Raggedstar changed her name and took her in.

Russetfur shook her head. "She doesn't really talk. Or play. I don't think she's adjusted from wherever she came from. But she's never tried or even said anything about leaving, either. I wonder if she'll ever really -"

Skyheart cut off the warrior mid-sentence with a cry of despair. Nightpelt and his former mentor's heads snapped up to see what was wrong. The scent of blood reached the ginger warrior's nostrils, and her muscles stiffened. Skyheart ran forward, and Foxheart stumbled forward after him. Finally, the two in the back could see the reason for their fellow warrior's distress. Lizardfang lay several fox-lengths ahead of them, a pool of blood surrounding him.

Russetfur and Nightpelt glanced at each other with wide eyes before running after the younger warrior, leaving Foxheart and Dustpaw to follow. As they neared, the cats saw that deep scratches had ripped through the flesh on his side, but it was the set of clawmarks, deeper than a normal wound, in the old tom's neck that had killed him. The fur on Russetfur's spine lifted. Had WindClan done this? Perhaps in revenge for the death of their previous deputy, killed by ShadowClan so many moons past? The WindClan border wasn't very far; the deputy lay a little ways away from Carrionplace, not four fox-lengths from the border.

Skyheart crouched next to his former mentor, his tail bushy with shock, his eyes shining. The two had been like father and son, even after Skyheart became a warrior. Russetfur came forward and rested her tail on the younger warrior's shoulder comfortingly. "I know this is hard, Skyheart, but you have to get him back to camp. Dustpaw and I will finish the patrol, alright?"

"I'll go with you." Nightpelt volunteered.

Russetfur shook her head. "Help Skyheart." she said.

The said warrior now trembled with anger, his voice dark and furious as he growled slowly, "WindClan." The coldness in his tone sent shivers down her spine; she had no doubt that if a WindClan patrol showed up now, Skyheart would tear them to pieces in a rage of grief for his mentor. The she-cat exchanged a meaningful look with Nightpelt, who started to help Skyheart to lift the fallen deputy.

"Come on, Dustpaw." Russetfur said after a moment, as Skyheart, Nightpelt, and Foxheart left, bearing Lizardfang together. The dark furred apprentice followed silently, her fur standing on end much like Russetfur's. "It'll be okay." Russetfur told her awkwardly, in response to her apprentice being visibly shaken.

Dustpaw shook it off, snapping, "I know that." in her more usual manner. In a softer, wondering tone, she asked, mostly to herself, "Who do you think the next deputy will be?"

"I don't know." Replied the warrior. A small part of Russetfur hoped that it would be her, but she knew it almost definitely wouldn't - there were more experienced, senior warriors to fill the slot. "Featherstorm? Blackfoot? Crowtail?"

Dustpaw dipped her head in agreement. "I was thinking Featherstorm, too. She would make a good leader." After a pause, Dustpaw added, "For a minute there, I thought you might say yourself. I would've clawed your ears off, but I guess you're a more modest cat than I thought."

A small bit of happiness formed in Russetfur's heart, though it faded when she admitted, "I did think it, I'm afraid. But I don't really think it will be me."

"Who wouldn't? StarClan, I even imagined it for a second. Isn't that ridiculous? I'm only an apprentice." Dustpaw kicked a rock, but a sad little smile was still on her muzzle.

Russetfur nudged her apprentice playfully with a shoulder. "You'll be a warrior before you know it." she promised. "And I think you wouldn't do half bad as a deputy even now."

"I could say the same about you." Dustpaw replied mischeviously.

Her mentor snorted. "Because I'm no more qualified than you? Besides, I bet I can still beat you in a fight." She added playfully.

Dustpaw sank into a fighting crouch and was about to pounce when suddenly the fierce grin dropped from her lips. "Why did it take Lizardfang's death to make us friends, Russetfur?" she asked sadly, even worriedly.

"I... I guess something big had to change." she replied slowly. The same question had lingered in the back of her head.

Dustpaw shrugged. "I suppose. But it should stay this way. This mentor thing doesn't work as well when I hate you. " Russetfur smiled, and her apprenticed hastily amended, "I still don't totally forgive you for the Fuzzypelt thing, you know. But we can be civil." Russetfur chuckled at this.

"Yes. Civil. Now Let's get back to camp - nothing looks out of place here." The dark ginger she-cat replied. Dustpaw nodded in reply, and the pair of them padded back to camp. When they were most of the way there, a lizard darted in front of them, and Dustpaw had the good sense to snatch it up and kill it. Russetfur smiled approvingly, but said nothing.

Upon their arrival, Dustpaw dropped the lizard in the fresh-kill pile. Lizardfang had been cleaned up some, and now many cats crouched near him in grief. Greenkit came out of the nursery and sat down at Russetfur's paws, and chirped, "You're gonna be deputy, Russetfur." Dustpaw rolled her eyes and walked off, where Russetfur sat down by the kit.

"Shh, Greenkit, " she whispered admonishingly. "The Clan is grieving for Lizardfang. And no, I don't think I will be deputy, Greenkit. I'm too young."

The kit wrinkled her nose. "Nu-uh. You're plenty old!"

"Thanks." Russetfur muttered. "But there are warriors a lot older than me, okay? Now, I know you probably didn't know Lizardfang, but he was a great warrior and a great deputy. It'll be hard for the Clan to lose him. I am going to share tongues with him. Will you come with me?" she asked. The kit was actually related to him, though only Dawncloud, Russetfur, and a few choice others knew that Lizardfang was the father. Dawncloud had told Russetfur that he didn't want other cats to think he was creeping on younger she-cats, though Dawncloud loved him enough to not care at all.

Greenkit dipped her head, padding behind Russetfur to the crowd of cats surrounding their beloved, slain deputy. Raggedstar, Skyheart, Dawncloud, and Stonetooth were all sharing tongues with the tom already, but the two she-cats squeezed in. "Lizardfang.. I never knew you very well, but you never failed in your duties, and the Clan will miss you. You will be remembered." Russetfur murmured to him. Beside her, Greenkit pushed her tiny nose into his fur.

"I only met you a while ago, but I really liked you. I don't know why, but I feel like crying because you're gone. I hope you find your way to StarClan." Greenkit said, and true to her word, tears were glistening in her eyes. Russetfur licked the top of her head, and the pair of them walked away, letting other cats share tongues with him.

A short time later, Raggedstar summoned the Clan for a meeting. The moon was not at its highest yet, but it was close. Only Skyheart and Dawncloud remained crouched at Lizardfang's body. "ShadowClan. Lizardfang, you were a great deputy. You were my partner in managing you folks, my deputy, and my friend. I will miss you, and all of ShadowClan wishes you easy passage to StarClan. So I say these words before you, in hopes that you hear and approve my choice of ShadowClan's next deputy."

Raggedstar paused, as if wondering if he was doing the right thing. "ShadowClan's next deputy will be Foxheart!"


	22. Battle

Shock hit Russetfur like a badger slamming into her at full speed. Foxheart was going to be the new deputy? Her sister? The cat who killed Reedfeather in the battle with WindClan? The cat who only left the nursery that day? The cat who had only ever trained one apprentice? Jealousy flooded through Russetfur. How could Raggedstar pick Foxheart? There were so many more experienced warriors, warriors a hundred times more suited for deputyship. And if he wanted a young deputy, presumably for their longevity, then couldn't he have picked Oakfur, Rowanclaw, Skyheart, Nightpelt, - herself? If he wanted a warrior he trained himself, then Blackfoot would be the best choice - he'd trained three apprentice, and was a very good fighter, if maybe not the smartest cat around.

Or perhaps that was it- cleverness? Well, Skyheart was certainly as smart as Foxheart, if not more so, and the same was true for Oakfur. Even Russetfur herself was almost as intelligent as her sister. Yet even with that brainpower, she couldn't figure out why Raggedstar chose Foxheart to be deputy. Swallowing her bitterness for a moment, she reasoned, Foxheart is young, smart, strong, a decent fighter and a good hunter...But she couldn't hold in the green-eyed monster for very much longer. _So am I!_ She thought. _I am all of those things, and I've trained more apprentices, I'm a better fighter, and maybe I'm not a fantastic hunter, but I caught that owl! I deserve this more than she does, yet who does Raggedstar pick? _

"I would also like to-" Raggedstar began, but he was interrupted by a shocked yowl of pain coming from the entrance of camp. A very unwelcome scent assaulted her nostrils a second later; ThunderClan! Russetfur forgot her jealous rage and leaped to her paws, immediately yowling the alarm. Tallpoppy, who had been sitting a little ways away, responded immediately by ushering Greenkit and Maplekit towards the nursery urgently, but the rest of the cats took a moment to respond. In those precious seconds, ThunderClan cats burst into the camp with snarls of fury.

Russetfur leaped upon the first cat, a tom nearly twice her size, his fur pure white, reminding her for a fraction of a second of Cloudpelt. Knowing this cat was not her sister's mate, she sank her teeth deep into his shoulder and unsheathing her claws to grip his fur. He let out a screech, turning his head sharply to dig his own fangs into Russetfur's muzzle. The pain was immense, as his long teeth penetrated nearly all the way through her face, but she expressed her pain by digging her teeth and claws further and further through his fur and flesh and muscle.

The white warrior jerked sharply as she bit down with all her strength, his sharp teeth sliding out of the she-cats muzzle with a spurt of scarlet. Russetfur released his shoulder just as he rolled to shake her off. She leaped off, then quickly raked her claws down his exposed belly. She couldn't strike very hard for lack of time and a good angle, but her claws tore through the soft flesh, and she leaped away to find a different opponent.

A smaller tortoiseshell tom faced her, a dusky brown she-cat at his side. They were both fairly small cats, but Russetfur couldn't take them both-but it didn't seem like she had a choice, as they leaped at her. The she-cat was young and fierce, and the tom quick and smart. They made a formidable pair, and Russetfur stood no chance. The second she clawed or bit one, the other would score a deeper cut on her. She was losing badly when a bright ginger shape intervened, balancing on her hind legs to rake her claws down the tortoiseshell's chest-Foxheart. Russetfur's sister turned for a moment, grinning, and the darker ginger she-cat snapped, "Get out of here!"

Foxheart didn't respond for a moment, her teeth locked in the other cat's shoulder. When she did, Russetfur almost didn't hear for the caterwaul her own opponent had uttered. "What?" called her sister.

Fire burning in her heart, Russetfur snarled, "I don't need your help,_ deputy_!" She said the last word scathingly. Foxheart turned, her eyes wide with hurt, before anger took over and her sister leaped away, leaving Russetfur again alone against the two cats. "You will never beat me, ThunderClan!" she screeched as the two cats closed in. She attacked with renewed fury, tearing her claws through flesh and sinew. The cats bit and slashed, but Russetfur hardly felt it for the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

Still, they were winning. Even though Russetfur refused to give up, they were overpowering her. Panic started to set in, Russetfur's vision going a little blurry from the loss of blood. She was trembling as she fought them, her muscles starting already to give out. _No, no, no, no, no, I will not die like this... _Russetfur screamed mentally._ I cannot die this young, I'm not going to die. I'm not going to die. Why don't they stop? I'm defeated? No, no I'm not. Keep fighting...Have to... Keep...Fighting..._

"Redtail! Mousefur!" came a voice. Russetfur thought it sounded vaguely familiar, but her thoughts were swimming and her legs weren't working and her eyesight was nearly gone. "Help!" came the voice again... Who was that voice... She knew she knew it... Fuzzypelt? Yes, Fuzzypelt. She was aware that no new wounds cut through her pelt... The warriors had left.

Dimly, a ginger pelt crossed her vision, and Russetfur nearly threw up. No... Not Foxheart. StarClan don't let her watch me die.. "Darkpaw! Get her!" came an even more familiar voice. Darkpaw? Brightflower's apprentice? No... That was a tom's voice... _Does that voice mean me? Are they going to drag away my dead body? Am I dead?_ The warrior thought. A dark shape slammed into Foxheart. _Oh... Different..Darkpaw. ThunderClan...Foxheart!_ Russetfur tried desperately to stand, to fight, to help her sister, but her legs simply would not follow her orders._ Perhaps I am dead... _

Foxheart and the ThunderClan Darkpaw moved out of her cloudy field of vision, and a much larger shape took up residence there. Bright, wide, worried amber eyes stared into hers. "Russetfur?" came the voice, the voice that told Darkpaw to attack her sister. "Russetfur!" The voice said louder. With an effort, Russetfur opened her jaws.

"T-Tiger...claw..." She struggled to form the name. She was so tired, so so tired. His nose pushed into her neck fur, one part of her that wasn't entirely shredded with wounds.

A smile formed on his lips. "You're not dead...I thought Redtail killed you, Russetfur... My Russetfur...I attacked Fuzzypelt so he would call for help, and it worked. I got Mousefur and Redtail to quit attacking you. I saved you, Russetfur, and now it's your job to stay alive. I can't let any cat see me with you, talking to you. But forgive me for attacking your Clanmates. It wasn't supposed to be like this. You were supposed to all be asleep. We were going to get Raggedstar alone, to try and make him give us territory. It wasn't supposed to be like this... " There was a loud call for ThunderClan to retreat."Russetfur, I will never forgive you if you die now. Stay alive. Stay alive. Stay alive..."

The she-cat didn't know if his words continued- she had passed out completely now. In her head, though, those words continued. Stay alive. Stay alive. Stay alive. Stay alive. It became a mantra, endlessly repeating. Stay alive.

* * *

Russetfur blinked open her eyes. A small plant was in front of her face, with slightly fuzzy leaves and one small, white flower. An aphid crawled over one of the leaves, flying over a tiny droplet of dew upon the largest leaf. Russetfur raised her head with a bit of difficulty to see that she was in the medicine den. Relief flooded through her. Being in the medicine meant she wasn't dead, right. She breathed a sigh and winced- her ribcage was bruised and had a deep scratch on it - like the rest of her.

Her whole body ached and itched and burned. She shivered, not daring to stretch her muscles, though they needed it. "She's awake, finally." said Yellowfang irritatedly. "You, get up! I said, she's awake!" Russetfur looked around to see that Yellowfang was nudging Dustpaw, who was asleep not a tail-length away.

"What?" she murmured questioningly. "She's awake?" the medicine cat only snorted. Dustpaw sat up, blinking away her sleepiness. The apprentice smiled at her mentor with a bleary gaze. "I thought you'd never get up. It's been three days, and you haven't been up for more than a few minutes. You must be starving." Russetfur saw that the apprentice had her fair share of battle wounds, including a badly torn ear.

"Your ear..." Russetfur mumbled slowly.

Dustpaw sat up straighter. "Cool, isn't it? Did you see how it happened?" Russetfur shook her head slowly. "Oh... I saved Raggedstar's life! Well, one of them, anyway. This huge ThunderClan cat came at him, so i jumped in front and he got me instead. It hurt pretty bad, but I'm okay now. Jeez, though, I thought you were dead for sure- you've got more wound on you than I can count!" Dustpaw's eyes travelled up Russetfur's body admiringly.

"It's not as glorious as it looks. Feels like I was hit by a monster." Russetfur managed a smile as her stomach growled loudly. "Guess I am hungry..."

Dustpaw leaped to her paws. "Me too. I'll get us something from the pile. I think Skyheart went hunting- and serves him right, too, he's been sleeping since the Gathering, and it's past sun-high!" She trotted off to get the prey, and Russetfur's heart sped up. She had missed the Gathering! Tigerclaw! The apprentice re-entered the den a minute later, and Russetfur took the frog she brought gratefully.

"So, what did ThunderClan say at the Gathering?" she asked carefully.

Dustpaw swallowed a bite of her lizard and replied with a snort. "Nothing. Nothing at all about their raid, just that ShadowClan should give them more territory. But don't worry, Raggedstar told them all about it."

"Huh." she said, unable to completely hide the worry in her voice. "Were the ThunderClan cats themselves hissing at you?" she asked, trying to glean information.

Dustpaw dipped her head. "Yeah, a couple of them. It was really weird though, one of them came up to me and asked about you."

Her heart speeding up uncontrollably, Russetfur tried to look confused. "Who was it? And what did you say?"

"I don't know his name... But he was huge! Like, three times my size huge! And his claws- they were practically as big as my paw, each! And he had all these scars and a really scary stare..." Dustpaw rambled. It was Tigerclaw! Russetfur suppressed a purr.

"What did you say?" she asked again.

Dustpaw narrowed her eyes. "I told him we could still fight without you." Russetfur nodded calmly, but inside she was panicking. If that was precisely what her apprentice had said, then he might assume Dustpaw meant that she was dead! "I wonder why he asked though. Was he the one that attacked you? Maybe he thought he killed you and was bragging about it to me, if he knew I was your apprentice..." she pondered.

"That's probably it..." Russetfur replied.

After Dustpaw left a little while later, Russetfur was left alone with her thoughts. Why was she so concerned about Tigerclaw? She had sworn to never be more than friends with him, sworn to him and to herself. Internally, Russetfur knew that if Tigerclaw had attacked her during the fight, she wouldn't have fought back. And that was dangerous. She had to distance herself from him, and soon. So why did she get to her paws to sneak into dangerous enemy territory when she wasn't even supposed to be walking just to tell her "friend" she was okay?


	23. Amber

**A/N: I've been updating like crazy, very proud of myself. Thank you Lifepaw for reviewing, and the same goes for WildCroconaw, when you get to this chapter ;) I wish more of you would reviewing, because I know the two of you didn't each visit my story 141 times in the last two days, so there are more of you reading this right now! Well, at least you're reading it if you're not reviewing. School gets out next week, so if all goes well, I can write all day once summer comes around. My goal is to finish this fic before school begins for next year, but I'm not altogether sure I want to because I love this story so much! I'm sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but oh well.**

* * *

Russetfur sat down slowly at the edge of ShadowClan territory. The thunderpath that divided her territory and Tigerclaw's loomed in front of her, seemingly endless. But not just going in the direction of WindClan, but across as well. The endless stretch of hard black Twoleg stuff that would forever separate herself and the cat she...The cat she loved. Russetfur admitted it to herself now; she loved Tigerclaw, as he said he loved her.

Which was why she was sitting here. The fact that she loved Tigerclaw was why she had limped and staggered to the edge of her territory despite her wounds, and it was also why she sat on the border instead of crossing. Her heart wanted nothing more than to run across the border to be with him; her heart didn't care if she betrayed her Clan, her heart didn't care what any other cat in the forest thought, and her heart didn't care if she abandoned her Clan completely, as long as she could be with him, somehow, someway. Her mind told her, in contrast, that if she crossed the border now, her whole life could fall apart. She would lose her friends, her apprentice, her family... And her position. Foxheart had gotten to be deputy now, but Russetfur was the one that nearly died fighting for her Clan. She could end up deputy someday, but not if she went to Tigerclaw.

Was her ambition enough to keep her away from her love? Russetfur didn't think so, but her ambition combined with losing her friends and family, any respect she had gained over the moons in fighting for her Clan... Lose Tigerclaw? Or lose everything else? The answer seemed fairly obvious on that level, but it was so much more complicated. Every inch of her loved Tigerclaw. She loved the confident way he walked, the light in his beautiful amber eyes, his overlarge paws, that he was just as ambitious as her. She loved the stupid grin he showed only when he was around her, the particular timbre of his voice, that he was brave enough to travel into ShadowClan territory just to see her. She loved his laugh, that he would cock his head to the side when listening to the leaders speak at the Gathering, and the comfort of his muzzle in her fur. How could she give all that up, even for her friends?

Russetfur closed her eyes for a long time, her internal battle raging and causing her pain tenfold stronger than any wound could give her. Her dark green eyes finally opened when the roar of a Twoleg monster sounded. As it got slowly closer, coming from the direction of Twolegplace, Russetfur wondered for a second if she should jump out and get herself hit. It would solve a lot of her problems- all of them, in fact. But as the monster rattled past her place of painful vigil, the ShadowClan warrior was running as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

The dark ginger cat reached the camp only to be met by Raggedstar. "There you are! You know you weren't supposed to leave the camp yet.. Or even the medicine den, actually." Russetfur shrugged helplessly. "Well, come on, it's time for Dustpaw's warrior ceremony." Seeing her look of shock, Raggedstar tipped his head to one side. "Didn't she mention it?" The warrior shook her head, and Raggedstar nodded. "Oh well."

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather beneath Highbranch for a Clan meeting!" the ShadowClan leader called as he leaped into the tree. The Clan gathered below him, and Dustpaw sat herself beside her mentor, a wide smile on her face. Russetfur tried to smile back, but the pain she was feeling right now overshadowed the happiness she felt for her apprentice. "Three apprentices proved themselves during the battle with ThunderClan. They are Brownpaw, Vinepaw, and Dustpaw. Brownpaw, as you know, is still being worked on by the medicine cats. He might not live through this, I am sorry to say. But Vinepaw and Dustpaw can now receive their warrior names."

"Vinepaw, Dustpaw, you have proven yourselves before StarClan, so I would be most surprised if a no came from the following question: Jaggedtooth, Russetfur, are your apprentices fit to be warriors?" Russetfur and Jaggedtooth nodded affirmatively in response, and Raggedstar continued. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Vinepaw, from this day forward, you shall be known as Vinesplash. StarClan honors your cleverness and nobility. Dustpaw, you shall now be called Dustfang. StarClan honors your ferocity and loyalty." He and the new warriors exchanged gestures. "Vinesplash! Dustfang!" he cheered, the rest of the Clan following.

Russetfur cheered along with them, but her heart only hurt worse for her apprentice's happiness. It was stupid, but the warrior wished she could be so carefree, so happy just to be a warrior. She knew she should be more proud of her apprentice, but she was so caught up in her own problems that she couldn't even be happy for her own apprentice to be forced a smile as Dustfang came over, and nuzzled her warmly, but the moment she walked to the camp entrance for her vigil, Russetfur walked out of camp again, ignoring her muscles' complaint.

* * *

It was slow, painful going for Russetfur with her wounds and her internal pain, but her paws carried her towards Twolegplace fairly quickly. Darkness was setting in now, though it hadn't even been dusk when she left camp. She just kept running until Charlie's fence came into view. She leaped upward with a tremendous effort once she was close enough, but didn't quite make it. Taking a deep, raspy breath to calm herself, Russetfur launched herself upward again and made it, though she tipped precariously on the fence and had to jump down to the flat Twoleg thing ungracefully with a loud thunk.

Russetfur looked around, but Charlie wasn't in the yard. She cursed, knowing he must be inside with his Twolegs. Not giving up though, she leaped to the sill of a square Twoleg substance that she could see through, like water. Sure enough, Charlie was being held by a Twoleg a little ways inside the Twoleg nest. Desperate, Russetfur mewed loudly, not really caring if the Twoleg heard. It did, and walked over on its pair of clumsy legs. It peered at Russetfur with its enormous face before lifting up the see-through substance somehow and letting Russetfur step forward. Throwing caution completely to the wind, she did, despite Charlie's look of panic.

The Twoleg set Charlie down on a surface a little ways below where she stood, so she stepped down there herself. "What are you doing, Russetfur?" Charlie meowed worriedly. "My owners might take you!"

"Charlie... I honestly wouldn't even care right now." she told him honestly, and his frown only deepened.

Looking into her eyes, he asked, "What's happened?" His concern only made the sadness that had already taken over her mind grow further.

"Everything's happened, Charlie..." she began, before telling him everything. To get all of it off of her chest was an enormous relief, but the hole where her heart should be still ached and throbbed with pain. Her friend comforted her, licking the top of her head.

Blinking, he said, "That... I'm sorry, Russetfur. But I promise, as your friend, I will always be here for you. I swear it." Russetfur smiled, and an uncontrollable need took over her mind. She leaned forward, glad the Twoleg had left the area while ago, and licked his cheek. She licked his fur, his face and his neck in a way that showed more than a grooming between friends. She stepped forward, still licking his soft, white, long fur. Her eyes narrowed seductively, but Charlie cleared his throat and backed up a step.

"What's wrong?" Russetfur asked confusedly.

Charlie, looking incredibly uncomfortably, answered quickly, "Russetfur, I like you, I do. You're my best friend, but we can't do this. It wouldn't be right. You love Tigerclaw, not me. I can't do this with you. I'm sorry." he apologized. Harsh rejection filled her head and her heart. It stung like fire and made her throat close up and she felt like crying again. Looking into his eyes for one more, pain-filled moment before leaping out of the nest, out of his yard, and away.

Russetfur didn't care where she went, as long as it was far away from Charlie and everything he represented now. Her wounds, Russetfur knew were going to be worse than ever with all this running and jumping, but she had to get away from that place. Time found her skidding to a stop at the Thunderpath that she had sat at earlier, thinking about Tigerclaw. This time, though, Russetfur hardly hesitated before dashing across the border, towards the cat she loved, towards Tigerclaw, who she needed so much right now that she wouldn't stop if StarClan itself charged at her.

There was a pocket of strong-smelling tansy a couple of tail-lengths inside the border, and she paused for a second to roll in it, disguising her scent. It wouldn't do for Tigerclaw's scent to be found by ThunderClan cats mixed with hers. She moved more slowly towards the center of the territory, where she assumed the camp would be, nearly silent as she stepped through the shadows of ThunderClan territory. Russetfur came to a ravine, which all the strongest scent trails led to, and she very cautiously stepped down the rocks.

Russetfur started to curse when she saw that there was a cat standing guard at the entrance to what must be the camp, until she saw that the cat was completely asleep. Holding her breath, the dark ginger warrior tip-toed past the sleeping warrior, into the ThunderClan camp. The camp was completely deserted, all the cats having gone to sleep in their dens. Still, she pricked her ears to listen for any waking cats. Only snoring sounds ruffled her ear fur, so she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. The most cat scent came from underneath a bush, which Russetfur figured was the warriors den.

She steeled herself, saying to herself mentally that she had gotten this far, she could get a little further. She stepped into the warriors den and saw that Tigerclaw slept near the middle, but all the cats were sound asleep, so Russetfur carefully stepped over them, moving slower than ever. Miraculously, she made it to Tigerclaw. He slept soundly, and her heart swelled with the sight of him lying there, dreaming of StarClan knows what, serene. She almost hated to wake him. She put her tail across his mouth and leaned her face near his ear to breathe, "Tigerclaw. Wake up." A pair of amber eyes blinked open in the darkness.


	24. Tigerclaw

"Russetfur?" he murmured around her tail. She stuffed her tail in his mouth to quiet him, but nodded, a smile spreading across her face. He gave her a 'was that really necessary?' look, but got silently to his paws regardless, spitting out her tail. He twitched his own tail towards the exit, but Russetfur noticed a flicker of a smile on his face. She was still trembling from fear of being in the enemy camp, but being with Tigerclaw evaporate most of her fear. _What am I saying?_ Russetfur thought. _I'm not a love-struck apprentice, so why do I sound like one?_

Tigerclaw led her out of the camp, taking a slightly easier rout up the ravine than the one she had originally picked, and into the depths of the forest. Only once they were a good distance from camp did he slow down and speak. "Russetfur... Why-" he started, but she didn't let him finish.

"I love you." she said, and it felt simply glorious to be able to tell him that. She jumped ahead to stand in front of him, looking into his glowing amber eyes.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "You do? I know I said that I knew you did, but I wasn't sure... " Russetfur dipped her head, meeting his eyes seriously.

"I do. I love you, Tigerclaw, even though we're from different Clans." she said, and he leaned forward to touch noses with her.

"I love you too, Russetfur." he told her. "At the Gathering, your apprentice said something, and I thought you might be dead. Raggedstar didn't say anything, so I figured you were probably just hurt, but I thought for a while that maybe you were..." he trailed off.

"I'm alright now." she murmured, her heart warming at his concern for her.

Glancing up and down, he argued, "Not really. You're covered in cobwebs from nose to tail, and I can tell that some of those wounds are still bleeding. I could kill Redtail and Mousefur for doing this to you, I really could."

"Join the club." she muttered. "You saved my life, Tigerclaw." she said in a more serious tone. "I was ready to go to StarClan, and I would have, too, if you hadn't made me stay."

The dark tabby smiled. "Well, I'm glad I did." he said, licking her cheek. "And I was only returning the favor, you know, saving your life. You saved me when I was a kit."

"'Course I remember. We never would've met if that fox hadn't tried to attack you." Russetfur replied.

"Wouldn't that have been better, though? If you never met me? StarClan knows you'd be better off in love with a cat from your own Clan." he said sadly, longing in his eyes, as if he wished he were born in ShadowClan.

Russetfur shook her head vehemently. "No. Maybe I would've been better off, but I couldn't have lived without you now that I_ have_ known you."

"And I you," he replied with another smile.

The ShadowClan warrior sighed. "That's good to hear; I think you're the only one. Even my apprentice- sorry, my ex-apprentice, Dustfang, hated me for a long time simply because I knew a secret about her."

"What secret?" Tigerclaw asked curiously.

She looked down at the leaf-covered ground. "Her father was a ThunderClan cat." Russetfur reveled in the irony- that she herself was now with a ThunderClan cat, talking about Dustfang's parentage.

"Really?" Tigerclaw said, surprised. "Who?"

The ginger she-cat hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully, "Fuzzypelt."

"Huh." the ThunderClan warrior responded. "He's a decent cat. But even if this Dustfang hated you, surely your family-" Russetfur cut him off for the second time that night.

With a dark chuckle, she interrupted, "No. Foxheart was appointed deputy, like you probably heard at the Gathering, and I got... Well, insanely jealous. I told her to piss off when I was fighting erm, Redtail. So not my family."

"I think you'd do a better job as deputy than Foxheart, personally." he answered sincerely.

Russetfur snorted. "You'd be the only one."

"Russetfur." he said as he got to his paws suddenly. "I'm sure cats in your Clan also think you would make a better deputy. One day you'll be the leader of ShadowClan, and I of ThunderClan. We'll be Russetstar and Tigerstar, and our kits will be deputies, and we can always be together in secret." He stared up at the stars as he spoke, daring StarClan to challenge his vision, painting a glorious picture of a wishful future.

The ShadowClan she-cat stood up beside him, tilting her head to the sky as well. He was a full head taller than her, but when he lowered his head, they seemed almost the same height.

The tom leaned forward and licked her muzzle, then her cheek, his tongue traveling down to her chest and belly. She stepped back nervously, but he stepped with her. "Tigerclaw- no." she said, a quaver in her voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked between licks.

Russetfur stepped back several pawsteps this time. "I'm not ready."

"Don't you love me?" he asked with wide, hurt eyes.

Unwilling to watch him suffer, but firm in her decision, the she-cat said, "Of course I love you. We've been over this. But I'm not ready."

"Russetfur, this is what love is about!" he said impatiently, a spark of indignancy n his gaze now, clouding the hurt.

Again she shook her head. "No, it's not. Love is about trust, and caring, and-"

"So you don't trust me then?" he asked.

Russetfur narrowed her eyes with a sigh of frustration. "Don't do this to me, Tigerclaw. I do trust you. And I do love you. But I am. Not._ Ready._ And no matter what you say, I will not be ready. In the future, probably. Now, no." she almost-snapped.

Tigerclaw closed the distance between them. "Russetfur, I've won you fair and square. You love me, I love you, and this is what happens when two cats love each other!"

Russetfur lifted her chin to look directly in his eyes. "Tigerclaw." she said in a dangerous voice. "You don't "win" me. I am not a prize for you. I am a she-cat, and I am not ready for this."

The huge tom snarled, unsheathing his claws. Russetfur did not shrink away, but a small voice in the back of her head was telling her to run, fast as she could. "Too damn bad!" he spat, and he deftly leaped so he was standing over her. The she-cat tried to sprint away, like the voice told her, but he was too fast- he caught up with her before she had gotten five pawsteps and pinned her down with brute strength.

"Get off of me!" Russetfur spat furiously. The voice in her head was in complete panic mode now- was he really going to force himself on her? With the thought, she struggled harder, but in her weakened state, she could barely move him, let alone escape. She sank her teeth into his leg, but he ripped his leg away like it was nothing.

"I love you Russetfur! I'll have you as my mate!" he growled back, getting into position without releasing her.

Her breathing sped up so that she was nearly hyperventilating with fear. "Tigerclaw!" Russetfur fought harder, biting and clawing with all her might, but nothing affected him. "Please!" she screeched and writhed in pain. "Stop it! You're hurting me!" Her yowls turned to sobs."Tigerclaw stop!" She paused for breath before screeching so loud that it hurt her ears, "HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Her screams pierced the air, but Tigerclaw led them too far from camp for anyone to hear. No cat heard Russetfur's yowls. No cat could save her.

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Russetfur lay bleeding in the forest, her dignity shredded like her body. She had passed out from the pain somewhere in the middle of it all, and she only woke now. She could see that dawn was not far off, and she knew that she had to get back to her own territory before she was seized by the ThunderClan dawn patrol. The last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near Tigerclaw.

The name wrenched her heart. How could he have done this to her? Was this all that he really valued her for? Did he even really love her, or was this all he wanted? Each question drove an icicle, sharp as his claws, into her heart, but she had to start moving. She shakily got to her paws. It took a lot of her strength just to do that, she was so weak and so battered. Russetfur took several steps forward, but had to pause after just those. _I'm not going to make it!_ She feared, but the thought gave her strength.

_I'm going to get out of here. I will get out of here, because I refuse to be near that slimy, disgusting, selfish, hateful, violent, dirty, revolting, angry, stupid, lying, fox-hearted scumbag!_ Each insult led her another step, and she spat on the ground, bloody though it may have been, in derision. The sky was lightening every heartbeat, and Russetfur pushed herself to go faster and faster. _Come on, you old bag of bones. You can do this._ Russetufr thought to herself. Again the irony struck her - she was the one that nearly died in battle with ThunderClan in her own camp, only to come here and be- yeah. And now she was forcing herself to flee, tearing her wounds and straining her muscles even more.

Russetfur could hear the Thunderpath, and the sound made her feel light and some semblance of near happiness. She pushed herself to keep going, to reach the Thunderpath without stopping, and she just made it. She carefully parted the plant with her nose to go into the tunnel underneath the Thunderpath. Her legs were shaking terribly now, and she tripped midway through the tunnel. She lay there for a while, entirely unable to get up again. Finally, she regained enough of her strength to get out of the tunnel. The ShadowClan scent markers were the most welcoming smell she had ever scented. Knowing there was no way she could make it to the camp, she collapsed beside a small shrub, just big enough to shelter her from the cold wind that was blowing.

Far too soon, she was awoken by a jeering call from the other side of Thunderpath. "Hey ShadowClan!" called a gray ThunderClan tom with long, untidy fur. "Taking naps on hunting patrol, are you? And I thought RiverClan was lazy!"

"Hey ThunderClan!" she called back weakly, unable to resist responding even as tired as she was, "Ever groomed yourself? I can smell you from here! And just look at that fur. Didn't your mommy ever tell you to wash?" The small cat behind him, probably a young apprentice, snickered. The warrior turned on him furiously and he shrank back fearfully.

Looking back at Russetfur, he replied lamely, "Well I can smell you from here too! And you stink!"

"Do I even need to dignify that with a response?" she called in response to the poor joke, but the warrior and apprentice were already walking away. She could've sworn the apprentice looked at her almost admiringly though. Before she could pass out again, a shout came from her own side of the border.

"Russetfur!" called a familiar voice, and the she-cat's tail lifted. It was Nightpelt!

She saw that he had Frogclaw, Blackfoot, and Wetfoot with him, and opened her mouth to answer, but she couldn't summon the energy, and her head fell to the ground once more. Her whole body was trembling and quivering, and her fresh wounds started trickling blood again for all the movement. "Russetfur! What happened to you!" Nightpelt asked as he neared.

"Dog..." she lied through her teeth in a small murmur.

Nightpelt sniffed her over. "Blackfoot! Help me get her back to camp- Runningnose needs to fix her up, fast." The huge white tom came over unquestioningly, for once.

"Frogclaw, Wetfoot. Finish the patrol." he ordered. "Come on, let's lift her." he added. Russetfur felt them start to move her body, but she was unconscious before they even started walking.

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**A/N: Wow. Poor Russetfur :( I'm sorry this had to happen, but it's truly integral to the story. I worked really, really, really hard on making this chapter T-rated, but I'm not altogether sure if it worked. So, I am terribly sorry if this is too...risque... for you, nothing I can do about it because I can't really make it any less revealing than this. Anyway, reviews are appreciated, and one question: Was Tigerclaw super OOC in this chapter? I felt like he was, but I am not totally sure. Might be my imagination.**


	25. Secret

Russetfur woke again as Runningnose started to work on her wounds. The medicine cat was murmuring quietly to himself, and seemed to almost be panicking. Though this was far from reassuring, it made Russetfur almost fall asleep again. She struggled to keep her eyes open, twitching her paws in an affort to stay awake. The gray and white tom saw she wasn't unconscious and stepped over her, staring into her eyes. "Russetfur. Try and stay awake okay? I'm going to save you, I promise, but if you fall asleep it will be a heck of a lot harder." The she-cat blinked in response, unwilling to speak or nod her head.

Runningnose shifted his attention back to her wounds, and as he did, he saw a particular pattern in the clawmarks on her shoulders. They were very deep and rather long, but there were four on each side, as if... He scented her fur again, and caught a whiff of ThunderClan. A couple of long brown striped hairs caught his attention and he pulled them from her flank. The scent here was unmistakable. He dropped the hairs in front of Russetfur's nose.

"There was no dog, was there?" he asked, and he heard the she-cat's heart speed up.

Her dark green eyes grew ashamed, and she lowered her head with some difficulty. "No." She looked up now, locking gazes with him intensely. "But no cat needs to know that but you and I. Not a word of this passes your lips, Runningnose!" she said, her voice bordering on hysterical.

"But, Russetfur..." the tom started, his voice troubled. "You know that there's a chance that he- that you're..."

At his words, the dark ginger warrior closed her eyes tightly. "It doesn't matter. This is between you and me, and I want it to stay that way." Runningnose hesitated, then dipped his head.

"I promise." he told her, and returned to treating her injuries.

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_Two weeks later..._

Russetfur stretched her legs. She had only been able to leave the medicine two suns ago, so it was good to be in the warrior's den. Kneading her paws in the ground for a moment, she exited the den, carefully skirting Skyheart, sprawled across the entrance. Dustfang was sharing a mouse with Owlpaw, whose warrior ceremony was due that evening. Feeling devious, the warrior padded over and plopped down in front of their noses. "Hi." she said, interrupting whatever Dustfang had been about to say. "Dustfang, Owlpaw."

The tom smiled and shook his head. "Not anymore. I guess you missed the ceremony?"

"Oh." Russetfur apologized sadly, "I'm sorry."

Owl-something shrugged. "It's okay. You didn't know Raggedstar rescheduled. But my name's Owlflight, now. And the others are Kinkfur, Shadestorm, Flamesong, Darkflower... And Brokentail."

"What!" Russetfur asked loudly. "He's only been training for three moons - barely!"

Owlflight kicked a pebble sullenly. "Don't I know it. Raggedstar said he was exceptional, that no cat in the Clan showed as much promise... He even hinted that he was going to give the stupid fox an apprentice soon!" Dustfang twined her tail with his comfortingly.

"Raggedstar's just being nepotist. Brokentail will get what for when we all show him up in warrior tasks!" The young warrior said bracingly, and Owlflight flicked his ears.

Letting out a huff of air, he responded, "I suppose. I just can't stand that Raggedstar sullied the name of warrior just so his precious kit could prance about in the warriors' den." He shot a bitter glance toward the leader, too far away to hear the conversation.

"We do have good news, though." Dustfang said. "Brightflower's pregnant! And not that long until they're born, either."

Owlflight chuckled. "A moon and a bit is a while, Dustfang."

"Shut up, you." Dustfang chided him jokingly before bowling him over. The pair of them scuffled in the dirt, laughing, but Russetfur paid them no mind. Her thoughts still circled around Brightflower's pregnancy. That, and the obnoxious number of times she had thrown up lately. Could I be-? The she-cat wondered. Sickness swirled up again at the thought. If she was... Then they would be Tigerclaw's. Even hearing the name in her own thoughts made the hair on her spine lift.

Shaking herself, Russetfur got to her paws, stepped over the brawling new warriors, and padded to Foxheart, who was talking to Raggedstar quietly a few fox-lengths away. She paused a little ways away, not wanting to interrupt. Raggedstar looked over, and twitched his tail for her to join them. "Russetfur. I must say it's good to see you out and about, but I have disturbing news..."

"What is it?" she asked anxiously.

His amber eyes dark, the ShadowClan leader replied, "Rats. They attacked Brokentail the other day, and I think it was them that killed Lizardfang all that time ago. I will not let them hurt our warriors, especially not my son. We attack tomorrow, at sun-high."

Russefur's eyes widened. "Are we ready for this?"

"Foxheart and I believe so. I want you to lead the second patrol, Russetfur. Foxheart will lead the first, Blackfoot the second, and I the last." He informed her. A small voice in her head asked sarcastically, _What? Brokentail the kit-warrior doesn't get to lead one? _

Instead, she ignored the snide mental comment and inquired, "Why so many different patrols, instead of two large ones?"

"Foxheart and I believe that four smaller patrols will exhaust them and make it seem like we have more cats than we do. So, are you battle-ready?" he changed the topic slightly.

Russetfur dipped her head immediately. "Of course." Right now, she didn't care if she was pregnant or not: if these rats had killed Lizardfang, she was going to get revenge.

"Who will you take? You may have seven, warriors and apprentices."

After thinking for a minute, she answered slowly, "I want Skyheart, Icepaw, Nightpelt, Featherstorm, Flamesong, Whitewater, and Tanglepaw."

Raggedstar dipped his head. "Very well."

"Er, Foxheart, I was wondering if you would hunt with me." Russetfur said, turning to her sister. Foxheart nodded, a tiny smile forming. They said goodbye to Raggedstar and padded out of camp.

After a couple of moments, the bright ginger deputy asked, "So. What brought this about?"

"I need an excuse to hunt with my sister now?" Russetfur responded jokingly.

Foxheart rolled her eyes. "No, but you've been very... Reserved...Lately."

"I need to talk to you." Russetfur said in answer, telling the truth. Whether this honesty would continue or not, even she didn't know. The warrior wasn't altogether sure she was ready to tell anyone, even her sister, what had taken place. Runningnose had kept his silence, for which Russetfur was grateful, and she didn't know if she was ready to break that silence.

Foxheart nodded. "Okay. Talk to me." Russetfur hesitated for a minute. Foxheart nudged her shoulder. "Hey! Tell me."

"I- well, um.. You see, I-" she began haltingly, a little annoyed at her insistence.

The ginger cat rolled her eyes and sighed. "Come _on,_ Russetfur. Spit it out already! You always do this..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Russetfur snapped.

Foxheart rolled her eyes yet again. "You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Her eyes, finally in one place, were hostile. "You try to make yourself seem more important by making up stories. Over and over. Give it up."

"_Excuse_ me?" the warrior snarled. "As if you're one to talk about making up stories!"

"Oh as if!" the she-cat replied loudly. "Now just tell me whatever you're trying to say already, I have better things to do with my time than this!"

Russetfur bared her teeth. "Then go and do them! It's none of your business anyway."

"None of my business? None of my business? That's rich. Everything's my business now, remember?" Foxheart hissed angrily.

Russetfur shouted at Foxheart, "Just because you're deputy-" Her sister cut her off, green eyes flashing.

"Don't even go there! You've been jealous of my deputyship since the day I was appointed, don't deny it! You are blinded by ambition, and you don't care who lives or dies, as long as YOU get to be leader! It's not going to happen, so get over it!" Her sister spat on the ground in front of her and zipped away into the marsh, leaving Russetfur speechless.

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**A/N: First, I am VERY sorry it's taken me this long to update. But it was Finals week, and then End-of-School sleepovers, and then I was busy with chores and whatnot... the next chapter might have a little bit of a wait on it because I'm working on a Jayfeather one-shot, but it shouldn't be as long as a wait as this latest one. Anyway, what are your opinions on the little siblings' spat at the end of this rather short chapter? Who was in the right? Russetfur? Foxheart? Both of them? Neither? Give me your thoughts... Again, sorry this chapter is short and late, but it is a bit of a filler chapter... next one will be a lot better! (I hope.)**


	26. Foxheart

**A/N: I published my Jayfeather thing! It's titled "Power" if you want to check it out ;) Also, I noticed an error in the previous chapter, Blackfoot will lead the THIRD patrol, not the second, because Raggedstar already said that was Russetfur's. Ha ha, silly Raggedstar. Anyway, I really hate to beg for reviews, but only one person is just really sad, and I'm never motivated enough to write these like this. Okay, I'll stop whining now. On with the chapter!**

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"Today, ShadowClan, we go to battle!" Raggedstar growled. The huge, scarred tom had called a Clan meeting a few minutes ago, and seemed to be getting the cats snarling for vengeance. "These rats, the very rats that we hunt when we are hungry, have killed one of us! Our deputy, no less. They will pay! Foxheart, are you ready to avenge the tom whose position you hold now?" The bright ginger she-cat nodded, her eyes burning with anger.

Russetfur glanced at the ground. Drawing lines in the earth with her claws, she refused to dwell on their argument. Raggedstar, now finished with his speech, dipped his head to her as he passed. The dark ginger she-cat watched as Foxheart gathered the warriors she had chosen, and she decided to do the same. "Skyheart! Icepaw! Nightpelt! Whitewater! Tanglepaw! Featherstorm! Flamesong!"

As the warriors gathered around her, she said, "You guys are on my patrol. I don't want you hungry for the battle, so share prey with each other. I wish there was enough to have a piece for everyone, but there's not. Oh well. So pick someone and have some food!" The mentors and apprentices almost all stuck to each other, but Featherstorm picked Nightpelt, so Flamesong was the one left. "Guess you're with me." Russetfur said, nodding respectfully.

The young she-cat smiled weakly in return, her eyes only meeting hers for a moment. "Scared?" Russetfur asked understandingly. Flamesong nodded slowly as she took a lizard from the pile for them.

"Y-yeah. It's not my first battle, but..." she murmured, trailing off.

Russetfur swallowed the small bite she had taken of the fresh-kill. "What's bothering you about this battle?"

"I think..." Flamesong started, looking up into Russetfur's eyes. "I think I'm pregnant. I don't want my kits- that ism if there are any kits, and there might not be... But I don't want them hurt."

Russetfur's eyes widened. "Oh. Well, Flamesong... You could talk to Raggedstar. Guard the camp with the warriors who aren't going..." The black-pelted she-cat shook her head.

"No, no. I have to be in this battle. For Lizardfang! He was Skyheart's mentor..." Anger burned in the queen's fiery eyes.

Russetfur asked in a low, quiet voice, "Is Skyheart the father?" Flamesong dipped her head slightly, just enough to know that Russetfur had gotten it right. "Well, Flamesong, I have a secret..." said the dark ginger warrior, seriously wondering if she was doing the right thing in telling someone. "I think I might be pregnant, too. Maybe."

Flamesong's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "Really? Who?"

"I don't want to talk about him..." Russetfur mewed, staring darkly at the ground. The young warrior ate a few mouthfuls of lizard and pushed the rest at the elder warrior. She took a small bite, but almost coughed it back up again, feeling nauseous at the memory of the father of her kits. "You can have the last. I, uh, had two birds last night, still pretty full."

The black shecat hesitated. "You sure? You seemed kind of ravenous a minute ago..." Concern lay heavily in her voice, making Russetfur emotional, because of the hormones.

"Really. I'm fine." The warrior looked around to see that the other warriors were mostly finished, pacing and scratching at the dirt nervously. Skyheart, however, stared at the ground, claws extended, eyes wide with fury. He and Lizardfang had been closer than most mentors and their apprentices get, and now he had a chance to exact revenge on his murderers. Obviously, he was ready to kill.

Foxheart motioned to Raggedstar, and he dipped his head. "Let's move out!" the deputy said firmly, and she paced swiftly, almost a run, towards the entrance of the camp. Jaggedtooth, Poolcloud, Oakfur, Gingerpaw, Clawface, Ratpaw, and Shadestorm followed, all looking determined. Russetfur stood and motioned to her patrol to stand. Before she could follow her sister's patrol, however, Dustfang came up to her.

"Russetfur, don't die out there, okay?" Her former apprentice was part of Raggedtsar's patrol, and her voice was hevay with worry.

Taking a slow breath, the warrior responded, "Ill be fine, Dustfang. And so will you." She gave the she-cat a quick lick on the forehead and followed after Shadestorm, in the back of Foxheart's patrol.

The trip to Carrionplace seemed at once unbearably long and terribly short. Once they neared, Foxheart waved her tail to indicate that Russetfur's patrol should stop here. Russetfur led the warriors to a clump of bushes, and they crouched behind them. Blackfoot's patrol stationed a little bit behind, and Raggedstar's closest to camp, behind a couple of saplings and shrubs.

The deputy's patrol moved forward, slinking through the grass quickly but silently. Ratpaw looked back with a look of fear on his muzzle, obviously afraid to fight his namesakes. Russetfur couldn't blame him, but he would be fine. Clawface, if more than a little bit of a jerk, would never let his apprentice get hurt.

As the first patrol got into Carrionplace completely, the squeaks and squealing of rats could be heard faintly, though the small sound seemed harshly loud in the ears of the tense, waiting cats. Soon they could hear the fighting of cats and rodents. They seemed to be doing okay for a bit, and Russetfur was beginning to wonder if they would be needed at all when the screeches of cats came loud and clear.

The dark ginger warrior streaked out of the brush, her warriors right behind her, the last fox-lengths between them and Carrionplace closing fast. They reached Carrionplace, and a fraction of a moment held stillness, silence. Then, rats exploded from seemingly everywhere and swarmed their fresh new opponents.

Two large rats buried their fangs in Russetfur's pelt, and she in turn bit own on them, raking her claws down the closest to make it let go. Its glowing eyes shut, and the warrior slashed open its throat in the moment of weakness. Her razor-sharp teeth crunched through the neck bones of the other rat, and it lay dead, too. But within seconds, more rats took their fallen brethren's place, clawing and biting and doing their damndest to kill every cat present.

Russetfur heard a shriek from Flamesong and shook the rats from her pelt to help her. Skyheart, however, got there first and decapitated the rat that was latched on to her neck in one claw-stroke. The rage and bloodlust in his gaze, his very movement, was frightening. He moved away, slashing his long claws at a particularly large rat, leaving Flamesong. The older warrior dashed over and asked quickly, "You okay?" Flamesong winced but nodded, trying to stem the flow of blood from her neck. The wounds weren't that large, however, so Russetfur dipped her head and went back to fighting rats.

Three of them, all the same dirt brown with bitter black eyes, threw themselves at her. She tried to fight back, but each time she ripped one from her bloody fur, another replaced it. as she was getting more and more exhausted, another warrior took on one of the rats, leaving her free to attack the others. "Thanks!" she shouted over the screeching and squeaking and looked to see who her savior was.

Tanglepaw grinned at her, his claws sinking into the rat's neck. He had several wounds, but seemed to be doing fine on his own. Russetfur looked around briefly for Whitewater, but the appearance of yet another rat distracted her before she could spot the white-furred she-cat.

Finishing off the rat that had attacked her by seizing its neck in her jaws, shaking it vigorously and throwing it, Russetfur heard a wail of despair and pain. She whipped around and saw that Ratpaw was struggling underneath a rodent easily the same size as him, if not somewhat larger. She sprinted to him, barreling into the rat and smashing its head against some Twoleg object. Ratpaw had deep wounds covering nearly his entire pelt, most of them bleeding profusely."Ratpaw! Go back, find Runningnose!" she shouted.

"No, Russetfur!" he yowled back, "I have to keep fighting! Dirtpaw-"

The warrior interrupted him "Go back, before you bleed to death! You can't do anything for Dirtpaw in this state. Where is she?"

"Over there." he said, pointing with his tail before finally taking her advice and fleeing. Russetfur ran in the direction he had given her searching desperately for the apprentice's brown coat. She glimpsed it and dashed over only to find that the apprentice was on the ground, dead. Her eyes stared blankly into the fray of battling animals, her throat torn and a lake of blood surrounding her.

"Oh, Dirtpaw..." Russetfur said sadly, backing away slowly from the horrific sight. She turned her head and saw something that would haunt her dreams until the day she joined StarClan.

Foxheart fell to the ground as if in slow-motion, Russetfur's eyes widening in disbelief as it happened. She dove through the throng of warriors and rats to the ginger she-cat. Blood trickled out of her mouth, and her eyes started to glaze over. A rat still clung to her, teeth sunk in her neck, the one that had delivered the final blow. "Foxheart, get up." Russetfur pleaded, nudging her flank. "Foxheart, the battle isn't over! Come on, you have to get up! Foxheart!" She pressed her muzzle into the ginger fur, already going cold, and the truth bled into her like a light rain, gathering into a storm of grief and rage.

"FOXHEART!" She yowled to the sky, wondering how it could possibly still glow vibrant blue when her sister wasn't there... Russetfur tried to stop herself from thinking it; her sister was dead. Her mind refused to accept it, and denied furiously. "No, no, no, NO!" Tears were spilling out now, hard and fast, turning Foxheart's bright fur into a light russet tone. "You can't leave me alone here! Foxheart!" Her heart swelled with grief, threatening to burst, when another rat leaped onto her sister's body, eyes gleaming with malice.

"GET YOUR FILTHY PAWS OFF HER! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" She sprang at the rat with a fury she had not known she could contain, beside herself with the shock of losing the cat she'd known her whole life, depended on, trusted, and, more than anything, loved. She had loved all her family, but no one quite understood her like the brave she-cat that lay fallen on the battle-field, untended by the fighting warriors.

She tore through the rat's throat with ease, driven by her own rage. She pounced on the vile rodents, over and over again, all the while staying near Foxheart, not letting any creature near her, cat or otherwise. Adrenaline pulsed through her, though she did not understand how, because a great hole had been ripped through her, ravaged her to no end. She killed mercilessly and tirelessly for StarClan knows how long, not caring who her opponent was, needing only to bite and claw and fight, anything to tear her mind away from the fact that Foxheart, her sister, her friend, her deputy, her den-mate, was dead.


	27. Grief

**A/N: I got a bunch of reviews last time I updated, thank you guys! I'm sorry I couldn't get this one out faster; had to go and visit my grandma for a couple days. :( I'm almost at fifty reviews! I am very happy :D Conflicting emoticons in this line, I know... Last, I'm going to be kind of busy the next few weeks, so I am sorry in advance for any updating delays. I am also sorry this chapter is a bit short :/**

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Russetfur stared blankly into the fiery pelt of her sister. Somehow, her Clanmates had managed to calm her enough to make her let them take Foxheart to the camp. Now Russetfur's nose was buried in her fur, lost in grief. Dirtpaw, and Frogclaw were also killed in the battle, and their bodies lay a little bit away from Foxheart's. Ratpaw, Stumpytail, Shadestorm, and Duskfeather were all in pretty bad shape, too, but the medicine cats were fixing them up. Brokentail had miraculously escaped almost all injury, and was stalking about, telling Ratpaw what he should have done better. Of the four cats most injured, Ratpaw was the best off, but even he couldn't take Brokentail's jibes for long.

But before Ratpaw injured himself more in fighting with the arrogant tom, Brokentail's father called a meeting. "Cats of ShadowClan, please gather beneath HighBranch for a Clan meeting!" Raggedstar said, his voice low and hollow. Most of the cats were already present, mourning the fallen warriors, but the last of them trickled out of the dens in response to their leader's call.

"Today, ShadowClan has suffered. We have lost three cats, and more of us may die. It is not a happy thing to say, but that is the truth. First I must address the three Clanmates who have given their lives for ours in this battle. Frogclaw. He was a new warrior, but he was as strong and brave as any warrior twice his age. If I am not mistaken, if Shadestorm lives through her injuries, she will mother his kits, and they will never know him as their father.

"Dirtpaw's death, too, affects the Clan terribly. She nursed alongside Brokentail, and was not too far away from becoming a warrior. Because of this, I would like to give her a warrior name so that she may live as a warrior in StarClan." He looked down at the brown-furred she-cat sadly, her still form being groomed by her brother, Ratpaw, despite his wounds. "I as my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. Dirtpaw has learned the warrior code, and she has given up her life in the service of her Clan. Let StarClan receive her as a warrior. She will be known as Dirtmask."

A few cats frowned at the name, but however unfortunate, she was a warrior now. "And last, we have lost our deputy, Foxheart." Russetfur flinched at the words, her breathing growing more erratic. "She was an honorable, brave, fierce warrior, and she would have made a fine leader. However, it is my duty to name the new deputy, though they shall have big pawprints to fill as the successor of Foxheart."

"I say these words before the spirit of Foxheart and all of StarClan, may they hear and approve my choice. Cloudpelt will be the new deputy of ShadowClan." The white tom was crouched beside Russetfur, mourning his mate, but at his name being said he stood. His legs were quivering, but he dipped his head to Raggedstar.

"I'll do my best." Gingerpaw and Sleetpaw, kits of Foxheart and Cloudpelt, were across from Russetfur, and while Sleetpaw's eyes flickered slightly with happiness for her father, they soon returned to the overwhelming grief that comes from losing your mother.

Raggedstar continued to speak, though by now Russetfur wished he would just shut up. "In light of the losses we have taken, we defeated the rats! I doubt sincerely that they will ever kill another of our warriors. And because today is a day of ceremonies, I would like to now apprentice Dawncloud's kits, for they have reached their sixth moon. Lilykit, Maplekit, and Greenkit, will you please come forward?"

The trio had been sitting with Dawncloud at the back of the crowd, so they had to fight their way through. "You have reached your sixth moon, so from this day forward until your receive your warrior names, you shall be known as Lilypaw, Maplepaw, and Greenpaw. Brokentail!" Raggedstar called, and Russetfur felt as though she should roll her eyes. Of course he would be getting an apprentice. He shouldn't even really be a warrior, but sure, go ahead, let's give him some poor kit to train... "You have proved yourself worthy, so Lilypaw will be your apprentice." The ambitious, scarred tom touched noses with the small, silent apprentice.

"Maplepaw! Snaketail will mentor you. Rowanclaw, a fine warrior, trained him, so I am sure he will be a good mentor to you. And Greenpaw. Russetfur-" the named warrior froze. Raggedstar was giving her Greenpaw as an apprentice? The tiniest sliver of a smile threatened to appear- this was a tiny bit of light in a dark world. "you trained Nightpelt well, and made him into a fantastic fighter and an excellent hunter. So I trust him to mentor Greenpaw." Oh. The dark ginger she-cat tried to feel happy for her former apprentice, but it was hard when she thought Greenpaw was going to be her own.

Raggedstar held his tail for silence. "There is one last ceremony for me to hold tonight. Cinderpaw and Ashpaw worked together beautifully in the battle today, and I would like to make them warriors. I hope that Icepaw and Tanglepaw will not be far behind. " The identical toms stepped forward proudly.

"I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Cinderpaw, Ashpaw, from this day forward, you shall be known as Cinderfur and Ashfur. StarClan honors your courage and ability. Both of them, though no cat really knew which was which, licked Raggedstar's shoulder.

Russetfur closed her eyes and licked Foxheart's fur one last time before running out of camp. Her injuries, while not incredibly serious, slowed her down, and she forced herself to stop at the Burnt Sycamore. The run had her panting and tired, but her physical exhaustion was miniscule in comparison to her emotional tiredness.

Her father was dead, her sister was dead, her former mentor no longer trusted her, her best friend had rejected her, her best friend was a kittypet, her living sister's kit was mute, her second apprentice hated her for most of her training, her sister and a tom two moons younger than her had been chosen as deputies, the tom she loved had raped her, she was pregnant with a ThunderClan tom's kits, she was in love with said tom, her leader was a nepotist, and she herself was very self-pitying. That might have been the worst of all.

Russetfur was so tired of seeing the cats she loved dropping like mice in ThunderClan around her. She was tired of death and dying and fighting and having love torn away. She was tired of nothing going the way it should, and she was tired of feeling this way when she wasn't even that bad off. She had food to eat, a den to sleep in, and a Clan to fight for, several of which loved her. She had no need to complain, so why did she feel so awful?

A small voice gave her a reprieve from her thoughts. "Hi Russetfur." The warrior turned to see Gingerpaw, looking miserable and defeated with her thin shoulders shrugged and her head hung low.

"Hi, Gingerpaw..." she mumbled to the dejected apprentice. "Did you follow me here?"

The she-cat, who looked so much like Foxheart, though she had Cloudpelt's eyes, shrugged. "Yeah. Sorry."

"No, it's okay..." Russetfur replied. An awkward silence followed. "I heard you're coming along with your training." she tried to distract from the obvious topic they refused to say.

Again the she-cat shrugged. "I guess."

"O-Oakfur's a good mentor. He's my brother, you know." She said.

Gingerpaw gave her a look. "Yeah, I know. Foxheart told me."Russetfur's face reddened slightly. Of course she had. If Gingerpaw was her own kit, why wouldn't she have said something about her kit's mentor being her own brother?

"Look, Gingerpaw, I don't want to talk about Foxheart. I miss her, and I know you miss her too. But I don't want to talk about her." the warrior said apologetically, her green eyes meeting Gingerpaw's.

The apprentice dipped her head. "I get that. But I do want to talk about it. You're expecting kits, right? You're going to be a mom, and now that Foxheart's gone, you are the closest thing Sleetpaw and I have to a mother. We could go to Tallpoppy, but she isn't as much like our real mother. She's agood cat, I know that, but she's a queen. She spends her days lokking after kits that aren't even her own. But you and Foxheart are the ambitious ones. The fighters and the ones who want to be leader of ShadowClan. Wanted, for Foxheart. Sleetpaw wouldn't ask you for this, but I guess I'm not as good a cat as her. Will you be our sort-of mom? Someone we can go to for help and to complain about or tiny problems?"

"You are so much like your mother, Gingerpaw." Russetfur said, smiling a little. "Yes, you can talk to me about anything. And you are definitely as good a cat as Sleetpaw is."

Gingerpaw returned the smile for a moment, before tears formed in her eyes. "You're like her, too. I miss her."

"I know." Russetfur closed her eyes, curling her tail around the apprentice. "I miss her as well. But things will get better. And we'll see her again, don't you fret."

Gingerpaw leaned her head into her aunt, flattened her ears against her head, and cried.


	28. Storm

A terrible, howling wind woke Russetfur from her sleep. Half a moon had passed since the death of her sister, and she was mostly recovered. She knew for sure she was pregnant now, but not because her stomach was starting to swell, but because she could feel the kits moving inside her.

Some things had definitely changed in the last two weeks; Littlecloud had gotten his full name at last, Brightflower's kits, Volekit and Mosskit, had escaped camp and been brought back, and Shadestorm, Flamesong, and herself had moved into the nursery.

Russetfur continued with her warriors duties, only slept in the den, as did Flamesong, because the only real reason they had moved early was to have space in the overcrowded warriors den. Shadestorm, on the other paw, was easily a moon further along in her pregnancy than the other two, and Flamesong was ahead of Russetfur, too, if not by so much. But even the nursery was crowded now, with Brightflower and her kits, Featherstorm and her newborn kits, and the three newer queens.

The nursery was the most sheltered den in the camp, so it came as a bit of a surprise when the wind woke Russetfur; you could usually not even hear it through the nursery walls. But this wind was louder than any Russetfur had heard before; it roared and surrounded the whole camp in one ominous crash of noise and sound.

The queen got to her paws slowly and stepped outside to see that the sky was black and terrifying. Pressure made her ears pop and she shuddered, hair lifting on her spine. She knew something was off, as she had had a foreboding squeezing in her gut for the last day and a half. All over camp, she saw, cats were staring at the sky, nervous.

Lightning flashed and Russetfur flinched. It wasn't even sunhigh, and the storm had already broken. Raindrops fell from the sky and splattered onto her dark ginger fur, but she ignored them, still sitting with her legs frozen and staring up with dark green eyes.

A dark gray funnel shape formed from the clouds, but reached down to touch the earth. The roaring got louder the flashes of lightning grew more frequent, and the rain fell faster. The shape grew closer and Russetfur backed slowly into the nursery. Her fur, now plastered to her skin by the downpour, would have stood completely on end had it been dry. Fear enveloped her mind. Russetfur had no idea what was going on, but it sure as hell wasn't good.

Things flew into the air as the cloud shape traveled closer. Brambles, branches, small bushes and shrubs, even Russetfur herself felt a tug on her paws, as if the funnel of cloud and wind and rain was going to suck her up into the air as well. She backed the rest of the way into the nursery, where the other queens pressed against the back wall, fear shining in their widened eyes.

Blossomkit, the smallest of Featherstorm's litter of three, began to lift off the ground as the den itself began to lift as well. Russetfur caught her by the scruff and crouched over the other kits. Flamesong did the same, taking the hint, over Brightflower's kits. Shadestorm was frozen with fear, her mouth open and her breathing swift and shallow.

Featherstorm took Blossomkit from Russetfur and set the kit at her stomach as the walls of the den fully crumbled and were sucked into the air. The roaring was deafening now, and the pull on Russetfur's paws was too great; in her standing position, she began to float upward, pulled up by the force of the cloud funnel.

She cursed loudly when she saw that Flamesong was also being sucked into the air, not a tail-length away. The queens started to revolve in circles as they were lifted higher and higher, until they were flying in loops, being whipped through the air alongside other cats, prey, and various debris.

For a second the two she-cats muzzles crossed paths, and though Russetfur couldn't hear a thing to save her life, she could've sworn the words on Flamesong's lips read, "Fight it!" Rain and dirt and sticks blurred her vision, but she was all too happy to follow the advice, intentional or not.

She churned her paws and hurled herself at the outside of the shape, which only flung her out of the shape and she slammed into a large pool of water, the impact so sharp and fast that she was momentarily paralyzed. Coughing up water that had found its way into her body, Russetfur struggled to the edge of the pool, her limbs aching and her whole body shivering and shaking.

She looked up to see that the thing had carried her all the way to the Burnt Sycamore. But it was what Russetfur saw the next moment that scared her. Flamesong's black pelt shot out of the funnel, which was now moving towards Carrionplace and Highstones, and threw her straight into the tree. They collided with an unbearable loud slam, and the queen fell to the ground. Russetfur clambered out of the water and pelted over to the best of her ability. She didn't have any deep wounds, but she had a lot of bruising and two of her ribs might have been fractured.

The dark ginger queen reached her denmate and crouched beside her. Blood trickled out of an abrasion on Flamesong's head, where she had struck the tree, but her chest showed breathing and her back paw twitched. her heartbeat sounded a little muffled, but Russetfur was just glad she was alive. Whether she would stay that way, however, was a question yet to be answered.

Russetfur took a good hold of the black she-cat's scruff and began to drag her towards camp. The funnel had receded now, moving past Highstones and towards the mountains, far, far away. Russetfur squinted and saw that moving shapes were out towards Carrionplace, but she couldn't help them now. She kept pulling Flamesong towards the decimated ShadowClan camp until she came across a most horrifying sight.

Lying still in a pool of silty, bloody water was Cloudpelt, his luxurious white fur stained with his own blood, still trickling from a long, deep wound that went from his chin to just under his left foreleg, exposing his vital throat and heart and killing him. Cloudpelt, who had only been the ShadowClan deputy for half a moon, was dead.

Tears sprang to the she-cat's eyes for Gingerpaw and Sleetpaw, who would be heartbroken. They had already lost their mother, and now their father. Russetfur shuddered, cursing her pregnancy for making her so emotional. Temporarily leaving Flamesong on the soggy earth, Russetfur used a paw to close Cloudpelt's eyes, which had been staring, blue as the sky on a normal day, towards the Thunderpath.

Before Russetfur could drag her companion two more fox-lengths, a cat came out of the rubble that was their camp and ran towards her. It was Owlflight. He looked over Flamesong fearfully. "She's still alive, right?"

"Yeah, she is. But Cloudpelt isn't." Russetfur replied after catching her breath. Seeing the young warrior's look of horror, the queen closed her eyes and panted, "Just help me get her back to camp." The black-pelted tom dipped his head, grabbing hold of her scruff with his teeth and dragging her. He ultra black stripes glinted in the light, and Russetfur looked up. The sun had returned when the clouds traveled to the mountains. With its return, the queen felt a glimmer of hope.

She was brought crashingly back to reality when she found Sleetpaw just outside of camp, trapped under some fallen debris. Russetfur pushed it all off of her, wrenching a claw in the effort, while Owlflight continued to camp with Flamesong. "Th-thank you, Russetfur." the white apprentice with her single ginger paw gasped.

"H-have you seen m-my dad?" she asked, gulping down air and squinting in the sunlight. As the warmth dried their pelts, Russetfur couldn't bring herself to look Sleetpaw in the eyes when she told her.

"I am so, so sorry, Sleetpaw." Russetfur said, as tears welled in her eyes again. It took a moment for the young she-cat to grasp what she meant, but the second she did Sleetpaw stumbled back.

Her voice shaking with disbelief, the apprentice stammered. "N-no. Not h-him too! C-c-cloudpelt is d-dead!" her words soon became incoherent with sobs, but Russetfur managed to pick out a few choice phrases. "StarClan, how dare you take away Cloudpelt! How could you!" she screeched in despair. "How fucking could you!"

The appearance of Brokentail distracted Russetfur from the hysterical apprentice. Malice gleamed in his eyes, and the queen could only hope it was bitterness for the loss of his Clanmate. The tom stepped forward, curling his bent tail around Sleetpaw's tattered shoulders. "There, there..." he said, a hint of darkness in his tone. Russetfur stepped forward threateningly, and he glared back at her. "I'm here, Sleetpaw." he soothed smoothly.

"Back off, Brokentail! My father's dead!" she snarled, shaking his tail off of her.

The tom's eyes widened. "Cloudpelt was your father?" he asked. Russetfur snorted in distaste. How self-involved could a cat be to not even know his ex-denmate's parentage, especially when both of them were deputies? The arrogant tom's own father came out of the shadows.

"Brokentail! Oh, thank StarClan you're alright. What's this I hear about Cloudpelt? Where is that tom, I need him to set up some patrols." Raggedstar said, standing shoulder to shoulder with his son.

Russetfur stared her leader in the eyes. "He's dead." she spat.

"What?" Raggedstar said in dismay. "Oh.. Oh StarClan... Cloudpelt, dead..." Russetfur, unwilling to listen to any more, followed the mingled scent of Owlflight and Flamesong to what used to be the medicine den.

Cats with injuries were all over the place, with Littlecloud, Yellowfang, and Runningnose dashing about trying to fix was currently looking over Flamesong. She ordered Owlflight to clean away the blood as best he could and to call her when he was done. He dutifully started cleaning her fur. Russetfur looked through the mass of cats and saw Dustfang. Fear piercing the queen's heart, she hopped over bodies and over corpses to her old apprentice.

Dustfang had a deep wound down her side, but the blood was clotting neatly and she was still conscious, not that she looked happy to be so. Russetfur purred that she wasn't dead and started cleaning the blood from her sticky fur, gently, so she wouldn't restart the bleeding of the wound. Dustfang looked around and smiled. "I'm pretty gruesome, aren't I?"russetfur shrugged.

"It'll make a cool scar." she meowed, and Dustfang chuckled slightly. Littlecloud paused on his way to some other cat and looked at the younger warrior's wound.

In a hurry, he mewed in a garble, "Russetfur, find some cobwebs and two or three poppy seeds, fix her up. You've had it done enough, you can figure out how to do it. And if you can find any, use some marigold and put it on there. You know the plant." The dark ginger queen nodded and stepped carefully over many cats to get to the medicine den. There was a very limited amount of marigold, but there seemed to be a little more goldenrod, which Russetfur knew to work just as well, so she took half of the remaining marigold and a bit of goldenrod, some cobwebs, and the only poppy seed she could find.

Stumbling back to Dustfang, she gave her former apprentice the poppy seed, who licked it up quickly. Russetfur chewed the marigold and goldenrod into a rough poultice and smeared it on the wound, ignoring the cry of pain from Dustfang. After wrapping her in a thin layer of cobwebs, which was all she had dared take, the queen stood to look for anything else she could do, now that Dustfang was falling asleep.

the other cats seemed to have been taken care of, so Russetfur fought her way to Flamesong. Just before she got there, she saw through the dust that Raggedstar was sitting on HighBranch. "Cats of ShadowClan!" he called, his voice muffled by distance, dust, and the aftermath of the pressure of the funnel. "Brokentail will be the new deputy of ShadowClan!" Russetfur's fur stood on end. Raggedstar was making the arrogant, cruel young warrior the deputy? She could understand making his son a warior too early, but deputy? When cats apprenticed the same time as he weren't even warriors? The she-cat would not end well.

"I would also like to appoint three apprentices as warriors!" he called. Russetfur wondered if this was really the tiem for such things. Half the Clan was sick, dead, or missing. "Ratpaw! You will be known as Ratscar, for the scars you bear both on your pelt and for Dirtmask. Gingerpaw, you will be known as Gingerheart, for your mother Foxheart, a former deputy and valiant warrior. Sleetpaw, you will be known as Sleetpelt, for Cloudpelt, your father, as he too was courageous and a former deputy. StarClan honors all of your strength and skill. Ratscar! Gingerheart! Sleetpelt!"

Russetfur cheered half-heartedly before continuing to Flamesong. She was just regaining consciousness, with Litlecloud crouched by her dark ginger queen reached them as Flamesong asked, confused, "Littlepaw? What's going on? My head hurts..."

"I'm Littlecloud, now, remember. I got my name a couple suns ago. Flamesong, do you have any other injuries?"the tabby tom asked, staring into her eyes.

Another wave of confusion enveloped the black she-cat. "You cant've, the Gathering was yesterday. The half moon isn't for a while. And what're you saying? I'm Flamepaw."

"No, no, you seem to be a bit confused. You are Flamesong. You got your warrior name a while ago. You're expecting Skyheart's kits. Do you remember?" Littlecloud asked, his voice somewhat alarmed.

The queen jerked her head backward. "What? No, I'm too young to be a warrior. I still have two moons worth of training. I can't be expecting Skypaw's kits, I'm only an apprentice! We never-"

"Flamesong... you're fifteen moons old. Maybe sixteen, I can't quite remember. You were made a warrior. You're a queen now. You share a den with Shadestorm, and Russetfur..." he trailed off, glancing up at the ginger queen whose name he said.

Flamesong only looked more panicked. "What? No, I'm ten moons old, Littlepaw! My name is Flamepaw, and I am not expecting kits! And neither is Shadepaw! I am not a warrior! I am ten moons old!"


	29. Allegiances 4

**Leader:** **Raggedstar **- huge, muscular dark brown tabby tom with ragged, patchy fur, yellow eyes, and a shredded ear

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**Deputy**: **Brokentail** - large, long-furred dark brown tabby tom with a bent tail

Apprentice, **Lilypaw**

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**Medicine Cat:** **Runningnose** - small, gray-and-white tom with amber eyes and a constantly running nose

Apprentices, **Yellowfang** and **Littlepaw**

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**Warriors: ****Blackfoot**- large white tom with huge, jet-black paws, darker ears, and a long tail

**Wetfoot **- gray tabby tom

**Jaggedtooth** - large, ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

**Oakfur** - small brown tom with yellow eyes

**Skyheart**- large gray and white tom with green eyes

Apprentice, **Icepaw**

**Duskfeather** - gray she-cat with a white-tipped tail and gray-blue eyes

**Vinesplash** - black and white she-cat with emerald green eyes and a long tail

**Owlflight** - black tom with white speckles, ultra black tabby stripes, and striking amber eyes

**Snaketail **- dark brown tom with a tabby-striped tail

Apprentice, **Maplepaw**

**Dustfang -** dark gray and white she-cat with golden eyes**  
**

**Darkflower** - long-furred black she-cat

**Kinkfur** - tabby she-cat with long, unkempt fur that sticks out at all angles

**Hollyflower** - dark gray and white she-cat

**Rowanclaw** - dark ginger tom

**Cedarheart** - dark gray tom

**Whitewater** - long furred white she-cat with one blind eye

Apprentice,** Tanglepaw**

**Stumpytail** - brown tabby tom with a short tail

Apprentice, **Brownpaw**

**Clawface** - brown tom with yellow eyes

**Nightpelt** - lean, black tom with amber eyes

Apprentice,** Greenpaw**

**Tallpoppy** - long-legged light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Gingerheart - **ginger tabby she-kit with white flecks and one white paw**  
**

**Sleetpelt - **white she-kit with a single ginger paw

**Cinderfur -** thin gray tom with blue eyes**  
**

**Ashfur -** thin gray tom with blue eyes

**Ratscar -**brown tom with green eyes

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**Queens:**

******Brightflower** - black and white she-cat, mother of ?'s kits, **Volekit** and **Mosskit**

**Featherstorm - ** brown tabby she-cat, mother of ?'s kits, **Blossomkit**,** Thornkit**, and** Snowkit**

**Shadestorm - **black she-cat with a white blaze on her chest, white paws and tail, mother of** Frogclaw's **kit,** Frogkit**

**Flamesong -** tiny black she-cat with a white streak running the length of her spine to tailtip and fiery amber eyes, expecting** Skyheart's** kits

******Russetfur** - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes, expecting **Tigerclaw's** kits (Shhhh)**  
**

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**Apprentices: Yellowfang **- battle-scarred, dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face, and orange eyes

**Littlecloud** - undersized brown tabby tom with light blue eyes

**Brownpaw** - brown tabby tom

**Tanglepaw - **mute, light brown tabby tom with green eyes**  
**

**Icepaw-** white tom with black ears and a black underbelly

**Greenpaw** - tortoiseshell she-cat with bright green eyes

**Maplepaw** - calico-tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

**Lilypaw** - pinkish gray she-cat with brilliant blue eyes

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**Elders: ****Stonetooth -** thin gray tabby tom with long teeth

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**Kits: Volekit - **black and white tom with long whiskers

**Mosskit - **light brown she-cat with forest green eyes

**Blossomkit - **tiny dark brown she-cat

**Thornkit - **dark brown tom with lighter stripes

**Snowkit - **white-furred tom with cerulean blue eyes

**Frogkit - **white tom with light gray speckles and bright green eyes

* * *

**Other Cats: ****Charlie** - large pale gray and white tom with light green eyes, Kittypet


	30. Threat

**A/N: Ah, a chapter... Sorry for the non-warning about the Allegiances, I just couldn't add an AN after the last chapter. Anyway, you may have noticed some missing names in the Allegiances, this is not a mistake, they were killed in the storm. And yes, it was a tornado. A pretty tiny one, but still. Anyway, more than fifty reviews! Ha ha, thank you guys. I'll have sixty thousand words after these chapters... Maybe even with just the Allegiances...Quite happy... Sorry this chapter is again, short, it's a preparation for the next chappie.. Which will be slow because i'm busy. Sorry. **

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"Russetfur..." Came a slick voice, low and sultry. The queen's eyes snapped open. A pair of large amber eyes glowed in front of her in the dark of the night. She was in the nursery, and the night was fully dark, for the new moon was still in place. Letting her eyes adjust, Russetfur saw a dark brown tabby pelt on a large frame. Couple with the amber eyes, she thought for a moment that Tigerclaw had come for her, until this cat's bent tail and scent eradicated the possibility.

Relaxing, she meowed irritatedly,"What do you want, Brokentail?"her voice groggy and throaty.

"I want you to come with me." he responded, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The queen snorted. "You resorting to trying to get old, not to mention pregnant, she-cats now? Why don't you hit on Featherstorm if that's your thing, I'm not in the mood for your crap." She rested her head on her paws again, trying to ignore the prickling in her pelt spurred because of the similar situation.

"Don't flatter yourself, Russetfur. I'm not looking for a mate. I'm looking for supporters. You are well-liked and respected in the Clan, and a queen. Who's a better follower for me?" Brokentail asked, having managed to actually think something through.

The dark ginger she-cat rolled her eyes. "What a relief. But I'm not doing that, either. I don't like you, trust you, or think you should be deputy. Why would I want to pad after you like an apprentice trying to impress? You've already got Jaggedtooth and Wetfoot under your spell, and even Rowanclaw too, if I'm not mistaken. Leave me alone."

"You want to know why you're going to support me, dear Russetfur?" the tom asked, his voice dangerous. "Because I know whose kits you carry. I saw it all. I saw you trying to fight, to run... And I saw you pass out. I think you should follow me if you want your brats' lineage to remain a secret. " His vocie turned dark and harsh at the end, and he turned tail and padded away as he finished.

Fear encircled Russetfur's soul. Brokentail had seen? And he hadn't done anything? When she cried out for help, or even after Tigerclaw left, he still had done nothing? Bile rose in her throat, and she spat on the ground in disgust. Still, the queen rose and walked silently after the cruel tom.

"A wise choice." Brokentail chuckled darkly. He was supposed to be on watch, so they didn't need to sneak away from camp. They simply strolled out. They hadn't gotten very far when Brokentail suddenly sat. "I don't know why you didn't tell the others about what Tigerclaw did to you, like my so-called "mother". But I don't care. I assume you have good reason, so I'll make this brief.

"Russetfur, no matter what I do or say, you will support my decisions and know that everything I do is for the greater good. You will never question me or disobey me, and you will not speak of my coercion to any other cat. Or I will, and I swear by the dead body of my predecessor, I will first tell every cat who the father of your kits is. And then I will kill them." Without waiting for a response, the disturbed deputy pelted away into the shadows.

Getting slowly, shakily to her paws, Russetfur started back to camp, taking two tiny steps before muttering, "Too bad I don't give a damn who knows about Tigerclaw anymore." Her statement was true; the loss of her grandmother, Cloudpelt, Poolcloud, and Dawncloud in the storm had hardened her. Or broken her- she no longer cared about her treachery in loving Tigerclaw, or in meeting with Charlie. All she cared about was taking care of her kits and Flamesong.

Thinking Flamesong's name to herself made Russetfur pause and draw a breath through her teeth. The black she-cat had lost her memory to the point of her being ten moons old, but that wasn't the worst part - every two days or so, no matter how well she had been filled in the past couple of days, she forgot it all again, back to the same day in her apprenticeship.

So Russetfur calmed her, comforted her, and kept her from freaking out too badly when she forgot her mind again. Skyheart did his best to help, but he was lost in a daze. He had lost so much, too. His mentor, his brother, and now he had lost the memory of his mate.

Whitewater, Cloudpelt's sister, was not holding up well with the loss of her only littermate. She and Sleetpelt often cried in the warriors den at night, or so said Gingerheart. However, Gingerheart also heard the Whitewater thought she was expecting Cedarheart's kits, which could be a factor in the emotionalism. Russetfur sure knew what pregnancy did to your emotions.

The queen reached camp and slipped past Brokentail, sitting guard again. "Did you have a good time streching your legs, Russetfur?" he asked in an innocent voice.

"Just wonderful," she smiled back before turning away to slip back into the nursery. The darkness of the situation hit her. She had to pretend to be a loyal follower of Brokentail, or her kits would be killed. The thought made her cringe and groom her belly fur nervously as she settled back into her nest.

* * *

The queen woke to Flamesong jabbing a paw in her side, her eyes wide with confusion and fear. "Russetfur? Russetfur, what's going on? I-I-I think I'm expecting kits! But I don't know how I could be, I never.. Please, Russetfur, is this a dream?" The dark ginger she-cat closed her eyes tight for a moment. She hated doing this.

"Flamesong... You've had an accident. There was a storm, and you hit your head on the Burnt Sycamore. Your memory reset to when you were ten moons old, and an then you were made into a warrior, with the name Flamesong, and you are mates with Skypaw, who is now Skyheart. You are expecting his kits. In a couple of days, your mind will erase all of this and I'll have to tell you again." she explained, trying to keep it to a minimum as Shadestorm was still sleeping.

The small black she-cat hesitatted, then gave a small smile. "This is a joke, right? You're.. yanking my tail, that's all. Russetfur, please tell me this isn't really happening?" she had said nearly the same thing the last time, and like the previous time, her eyes grew misty.

"I'm so sorry, Flamesong. I am so, so sorry. You need to talk to Skyheart this time, though. Tell him you love him, even if you don't really mean it. Because you did, when you were you, you loved him."

Flamesong nodded, tears falling in earnest. "I will." she breathed. "I will." Russetfur moved forward so that they could touch their heads to each other, locking eyes. Then the younger she-cat closed her eyes and gave the slightest of chuckles. "You have to deal with me blubbering and denying it every couple of days?" she asked in a shaky voice, trying to alleviate the pain of the situation.

"I don't mind it, honestly. Would you rather have someone like Blackfoot tell you? I'm sure that'd go over just great." she said the last bit with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

Flamesong laughed. "I s'pose not." She glanced around the nursery. "Brightpaw and Shadepaw are queens as well? And you? I thought you'd be a singleton for life."

"They're Brightflower and Shadestorm now. And yes, I'm lugging around a litter with the rest of you." She licked her belly fur. "And I think I shall be a singleton from here on out. I didn't mean for this to happen either. Just not the I've-got-to-have-a-mate-and-fifty-kits type."

The black-furred she cat gave her a look. "Well now look at you. Maybe you'll love having kits so much you'll never leave the nursery. Maybe you will have fifty kits!" The two she-cats looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter nearly simultaneously. The idea of Russetfur being simply a queen for the rest of her life was fairly ridiculous.

"That would definitely get in the way of my becoming leader, wouldn't it?" Russetfur said as she held her chin high in mock pride.

Flamesong played along. "Oh, ambitious, are we? Since when did Raggedstar make you his deputy?"

"Oh, the other day. We certainly have been going through a lot of deputies. Wouldn't particularly surprise me if he made a queen one next." Russetfur replied.

The young queen tilted her head. "What do you mean, going through deputies?"

Russetfur realized that she didn't know about Lizardfang's death, or all that followed. "Right.. You see, Lixardfang was killed by rats and Foxheart was made deputy, but she..she was killed fighting the rats that killed Lizardfang, so Raggedstar appointed Cloudpelt as deputy in her place. But he died in the storm where you lost your memory, and now Brokentail is deputy."

"What?" her jaw dropped. "Brokenpaw-tail, Brokentail is deputy? He's younger than I am! Has he even trained an apprentice?"

Russetfur tilted her head. "Not really. He was given Lilypaw as an apprentice, but that wasn't all that long ago. It's only because he's Raggedstar's son." she made her voice very low and quiet at the end, recalling her deal with the said tom.

"That," Flamesong pronounced. "Is ridiculous."

Russetfur began to agree when a horrified screech ripped threw the camp, tearing at every cat's eardrums and at their hearts.


	31. Brothers

**A/N: I just heard about Yellowfang's Secret, a Super Edition book the Erins are planning... This book will probably make this fic even MORE non-canonical than it already is... But I would like to point out here and now that I started this before that book was even planned so it is not my fault that it will be so wrong. Well, all the current issues are definitely my fault, but you know what I mean. Anyway... Curse word(s?) in this chapter, don't read if you don't like it. **

* * *

Russetfur jumped to her paws at the sound of the screech. She dashed out of the newly structured nursery as fast as she could towards the noise. The sound, while having obviously come from a she-cat, resounded from Raggedstar's den. Several cats were already hurtling to whichever Clanmate's aid.

The queen pushed through the bystanders crowded around the den. When she finally got close enough to see what was happening, she wished she wasn't. Raggedstar lay dead on the floor of his den, his throat slit and a pool of blood drying around him. From the look of things, he had been there since moonhigh, though it was still early in the morning.

Greenpaw was the cat that had found him and screeched. The small tortoiseshell's fur was fluffed out and her eyes huge with fear and disbelief. Nightpelt had found his way to her, and was comforting his apprentice. Brokentail was staring at his father's body, just as shocked. His bent tail drooped, but soon he lifted his head and turned to his Clanmates.

"ShadowClan...My father has been murdered! It's likely that since no scents of other Clans are present.. That it was one of us! So look me in the eyes, cat who killed my father. Look me in the eyes, and know that these eyes will be the last thing you ever see! I'll find you." He said darkly. He locked eyes with Russetfur and twitched his tail for her to come to him. Remembering their deal, she walked forward silently to stand beside him, noth literally and figuratively.

The dark-furred tom pressed his fur against hers and announced to the Clan, "I will be your leader, now, and I will bring this Clan to glory if we die trying. I shall make ShadowClan the most powerful Clan in the forest, and no cat will ever challenge us again!" He said, his voice growing stronger as he gave the inspirational speech. "Russetfur," he said in a somewhat lower voice, "Tell Runningnose to prepare traveling herbs. Tonight I go to Highstones!" he said the last bit in the same confident, surging voice. Russetfur dipped her head silently and trotted to the medicine den. Anything to get away.

"Runningnose?" she called from the entrance of the den. When his eyes blinked open, she asked hesitantly, "Brokentail wants you to make traveling herbs." The gray and white medicine cat didn't respond, only looked at her with desolate eyes for a moment before standing shakily to get the herbs. He was still grieving Crowtail, as was Russetfur. She wanted to say something comforting, but she held back the impulse and only said, "Raggedstar's dead." over her shoulder as she returned to the nursery.

Flamesong was huddled in the back of the den with fearful eyes when Russetfur returned. "What happened out there?" she asked in a small voice.

"Raggedstar...He's been killed." Her eyes widened with horror.

Shaking, the fragile queen asked, "Who? WindClan?"

"No." Russetfur replied. "It was a cat from ShadowClan. We don't know who... Brokentail is going to HighStones tonight. I can't grasp the fact that he's going to be our leader..." she changed the subject slightly.

The black-furred queen pawed at the dirt. "That is a really strange thought. I wonder who our deputy will be.. Maybe Ratscar? They did nurse together, after all..."

"No, Brokentail doesn't even like h-" she paused, wrinkling her nose in confusion. "How did you know he's called Ratscar now?" Her tail lifted hopefully. "Is your memory coming back? What's Duskpaw's warrior name?"

Flamesong shook her head sadly, "No, I was just talking to Shadestorm. She mentioned his new name...What is Duskpaw's warrior name?"

"Duskfeather." Russetfur answered, her tail drooping again. She noticed that Shadestorm was staring at her and the dark ginger she-cat looked back at her. "What?"

Shadestorm didn't reply, only began to groom her fur, breaking the silent exchange of looks. Russetfur, with another sad glance at Flamesong, curled her tail over her nose and closed her eyes, wishing that Brokentail was the one found dead in his den.

* * *

That night, before Brokentail left for Highstones, the queen heard him call a Clan meeting. She decided to pretend to be deeply asleep, and pricked her ears to listen. "ShadowClan, since I will no longer be your deputy in a little while, I will appoint the new deputy now. I say these words before Raggedstar, may he hear and approve my choice. Blackfoot will be the new deputy of ShadowClan."

Russetfur, who had closed her eyes, blinked them open. Blackfoot? Disgust and jealousy wrapped her heart in vines. Blackfoot was deputy. That vile, creepy, irritating jerk was _deputy_! She resisted the urge to spit on the ground and growl in defiance, knowing she would have to support Brokentail's decision in this. She waited for Brokentail to leave before exiting the den. She nearly stumbled headfirst into Blackfoot. He jumped back in surprise. "Sorry, deputy." Russetfur muttered scathingly.

The huge white tom narrowed his eyes, but not in anger or irritation. His gaze seemed almost...Concerned. "Russetfur, I need to talk to you." The dark ginger she-cat sighed. Did he really think this was the time? Regardless, she followed him out of camp a little ways. "Look... This is going to come as a shock to you, but don't freak out or run away, okay?" he asked.

"Blackfoot..." Russetfur said slowly, deciding to turn him down before he made some sad plea. "I'm sorry, but I do not like you that way. I guess we can be friends or whatever, but as you can clearly see from my belly the size of Carrionplace, there's someone else." She didn't actually like that someone else, but that was beside the point.

The white tom snorted. "Would you just listen? I wasn't going to say- uh, that. Pretty much the opposite, actually."

"If you made me drag my pregnant ass out here to tell me you hate me- " she stared, but he cut her off.

"Russetfur!" he said insistently. "Shut up and listen. Littlecloud and I are your brothers."

She tilted her head sideways. "Excuse me?"

"Cedarstar... He's our father, too. Littlecloud talked to him in StarClan when he got his name. He had another mate, before Crowtail. She was the RiverClan medicine cat!" Blackfoot explained, looking scandalized. "Littlecloud and I are half RiverClan.. And their medicine cat! How could Cedarstar have broken the code so badly? He didn't deserve to be leader, Littlecloud shouldn't be a medicine cat, and I shouldn't be deputy." His ears flattened to his skull, and his tail drooping as he slowly sat down.

Russetfur awkwardly placed her tail on his shoulder comfortingly. "Did Brokentail know you're half-RiverClan? No. So you do deserve to be deputy. And Littlecloud's a better medicine cat than Runningnose. Maybe he gets it from your mother, but that doesn't change the fact that it saves cats' lives. Cedarstar made a mistake. A huge, horrifying, mistake. But I'm sure you'll be a fine deputy, even if I wish he'd picked me, kits and all."

"I guess." Blackfoot chuckled. Russetfur said nothing more for a while, contemplating how odd it was that they turned out to be related and how even more odd it was that Blackfoot, of all cats, was doubting his place as deputy. He was such a cocky, arrogant tom normally. He leaned against her, and she resisted the urge to shrink away. What a change his parentage had brought in him.

Finally, he stood up. "Anyway, Brokentail was telling me that were one of his supporters. I know how he can be... He didn't... Get you pregnant, did he?" he looked a little green at the thought.

"No!" Russetfur nearly shouted. "He's like a kit to me! Yuck."

Blackfoot looked incredibly relieved. "Thank StarClan." He waited for her to continue.

"I'm not telling you who the father is. I'm sorry." she apologized.

He shrugged. "That's okay. I think I know anyway." He trotted away, calling over his shoulder, "Get back to camp, oh pregnant one! I'm going hunting."

"Ugh." Russetfur winced at her new title, but did indeed start walking back to the nursery for a good long rest, preferably before her new leader returned and made her follow him around like an eager kit.

* * *

**A/N: Ahhh I'm sorry about all the short chapters, I really am. and it's even worse because I leave for my grandmother's tomorrow evening, and I'll be gone for more than a week... Looks like another long pause, guys... Sorry... I really suck lately... I can't promise I'll be better but I'll do my damndest for longer, better, and quickly written chapters when I get back. Go and read Cedarstar's Secret if you haven't already, or maybe re-read this from the start for something to do... Goodbye for now...**


	32. Brokenstar

**A/N: I came back from my grandma's yesterday to find in my inbox a most delightful surprise (No, that wasn't sarcasm and it wasn't poop)- In addition to having Dragonclaw11 come back, which is awesome, but I also got a bunch of reviews, a couple favorite story things and story alert things. Very cool. Thank you guys! Anyway, my gramma gave me all these books on writing and they all say pretty much the same thing; write all that you can without going back and correcting anything or editing anything, even typos like hte instead of the, or changing wordings or anything, until you have all the raw material down. I'm going to try it. Of course, I'll go back and fix my errors at the end. :)**

* * *

When Russetfur woke the following morning with her stomach twisted and tied tin knots, she knew something bad had either happened or was happening. She also knew she was right when she remembered about Brokentail. He had gone to the Moonstone, and the sinking feeling probably meant that StarClan, in spites of all his shortcomings, had given him his nine lives and his name. Brokenstar. The name didn't quite fit in her mind, like she couldn't even grasp the fact that a cat half her age, who was cunning and deceitful, and used coercion, was her leader. Her leader! She shuddered at the thought, knowing that other cats would have the same reaction, even those who did not know of his a e vile actions. Simply his age would make would shock them.

His youth and nine more lives meant he was also likely to lead her Clan for a very long time. She winced at the thought, remembering her father's own very short leadership, and Raggedstar's, which had lasted less than she had been alive. Pondering that fact, she wondered something very grim; the cat that murdered him, and it surprised her how easily she accepted that that was what happened, might have had to kill him multiple times. Many times, maybe. he wasn't very old and he couldn't have lost too many lives. Maybe in the battle with WindClan, or with ThunderClan, or the rats. But even if he had lost two lives in each battle, which didn't seemed very likely, he would still have had three lives left.

The thought did not leave her and she got to her paws and stretched, feeling the weight in her stomach, which seemed to swell enormously every day. She padded slowly to the fresh-kill pile. A crow cawed overhead, and she instinctively looked up at it. It flew away, but in its wake she saw a sight that was far more forbidding- the full moon shone in the sky. That in itself was not the frightening part, the fact that Brokenstar would be going to the Gathering was. When he was an apprentice, he had gotten into a fight with another cat at the Gathering and while Raggedstar had still taken him along to every single Gathering, his behavior never improved very much. Whether this was the result of a lack of discipline from his mentor, his bitter and angry adoptive mother's disgust for him, or a combination of the two, he was never a good cat to have at a Gathering, and now he was leading the Clan to one! Not only that, but Russetfur wouldn't be going because of her pregnancy, so she would have no idea what the tom would do, or if the rest of the cats were even still alive. Who knew- Brokenstar would launch an attack at a Gathering without blinking an eye, she presumed bitterly.

When a voice behind her asked, "Trouble deciding?", Russetfur suddenly realized that she had been standing in front of the fresh-kill pile for a long time, lost in thought and staring off into space.* She turned around sharply, the hair on her spine bristling a little bit in spite of her knowing that the voice belonged to Nightpelt. The large black-furred tom smiled with his sad little smile, his eyes morose.

"What's wrong, Nightpelt?" she asked hesitantly, knowing long it had been since she last spoke to him.

He shrugged, answering only,"Nothing," but a glance at her swollen belly gave him away.

"Nightpelt, I-" Russetfur started pleadingly, before breaking off. She couldn't tell him here, in camp, and she couldn't tell him now. She couldn't tell him at all. When he looked at her that way she felt ashamed, even guilty. She knew that was ridiculous, that it wasn't her fault, and that even if it had been her decision, she shouldn't have to answer to her former apprentice for that. "Nightpelt," she started again, this time with a voice of mingled defiance and threat, "That's none of your-" The moment the word 'none' had passed her lips, he had turned and sullenly started to walk away. "Business." She muttered darkly.

Finally looking down at the pile of prey, she didn't feel hungry anymore. In fact, she felt rather sick as she looked up to see that her sister, Tallpoppy, had seen the whole incident from where the was grooming her fur in the sunlight. Her eyes wide and curious, the long-legged tabby padded over and asked curiously, "What was all that about? Is Nightpelt the father?" Blushing through her fur, Russetfur dug her claws into the earth.

"No, he's not. And he's just being a jerk. A jerk who doesn't understand anything." she growled.

Tallpoppy's face broke into a slow smile. "Oh, I think you like that tom. I think you like him very much, Russetfur. Even if he isn't the father, not that I believe you. i bet every one of those kits come out with black fur and amber eyes, and then who will you say is your babies' daddy?" The warrior laughed devilishly and licked the top of her sister's head almost condescendingly.

Russetfur's ears flattened, but she was glad to see Tallpoppy happy again. She had fallen into a dark sort of sadness after Crowtail died in the storm. While she herself had never been close to her mother, she still felt the pain of losing her, but not as much as Tallpoppy and definitely not as much as Cedarheart, who had been closest to her. She and Rowanclaw were furthest from Crowtail, always impatient with her babying of Cedarheart- then Cedarkit. Foxheart and Oakfur were a little more distant than Tallpoppy but not to Russetfur and Rowanclaw's degrees. But Runningnose...The medicine cat missed her desperately, as much as Cedarheart or Vinesplash missed her. The others, Duskfeather, Skyheart, and Owlflight all hurt when she died, but again had been distant.

She seemed to see more and more of Owlflight lately. The young tom obviously had a thing for Dustfang, and was always badgering Russetfur to help him figure out what to say to her, or asking about her. "You're my half-sister." he said as an excuse when she exasperatedly asked him why she had to help him with all of this. "That's why you came to me, the romantically stunted, mean, charming-as-a-dead-frog she-cat. Because we're kin. Not because I was Dustfang's mentor?" she had replied scathingly. He shrugged, but still asked her about things. She didn't mind really, and she thought it most amusing how Dustfang was completely clueless about it all.

The thought brought a smile to her face, which she quickly erased for fear of Tallpoppy thinking it meant something else. A moment later, though, the smile vanished for real as Brokenstar came out of the leader's den- his den. "ShadowClan!" he called halfheartedly. He appeared to have abandoned the age-old tradition of telling them to gather under HighBranch. "I have decided those who will be coming to the Gathering with me, but two of them are cats you have never met." Russetfur exchanged confused glances with Tallpoppy. A silver-gray tom with startlingly blue eyes emerged from Brokenstar's den, a skinny brown tom right behind him.

"These cats are Boulder and Nightwhisper. They will be part of ShadowClan. They will be valuable warriors to us. Now, the other cats to go to FourTrees will be Runningnose, Blackfoot, Jaggedtooth, Wetfoot, Snaketail, Ratscar, Stonetooth, and Brownpaw, who has finally recovered enough from his extensive injuries to join us and return to training tomorrow." Brokenstar announced. Russetfur looked around to see that Brownpaw, who was now a fully grown tom, not much younger than her. His injuries, first with WindClan, then the rats, then the storm, had delayed his apprenticeship for a very long time. He had a very tired, hopeless look to his eyes now, befittingly.

However, as Russetfur moved her gaze from the old apprentice, she realized that every single cat in that party was a tom. Feeling ever so slightly miffed, she wondered what the motive behind that was. Brokenstar had to have one. He always did. She also noted that none of the cats that had ever openly spoken against him- Cinderfur, Ashfur, Nightpelt, Tanglepaw, Whitewater, and Owlflight sprang to mind- were included, either. That was a little more understandable, if it was still wrong.

Russetfur shrugged at Tallpoppy, who was obviously considering his choices too, before returning to the nursery for a good long nap.

* * *

It was late evening when Russetfur woke again. She was a little surprised, since she had slept soundly through the night the previous night. What woke her was a strong bout of nausea. It wasn't uncommon now, with her pregnancy, so she knew the drill. She hurried quickly outside to the dirtplace to retch. But by the time she got there, the nausea had passed. Russetfur held back a sigh. If she threw up, it didn't normally come back for a while, but now she was bound to wake in another few hours to the same feeling. She turned to go back inside the camp when urgent, lowered voices came from the undergrowth a little ways away. She crouched low and pricked her ears.

"Listen, you stupid vermin, I don't care how badly your shoulder hurts. Nightwhisper, I let you and Boulder into my Clan as reinforcements. The other cats will hunt and you will have food. Do whatever you want with any she-cat you want." The voices were too quiet to hear for a moment before the first voice came back firmer and louder. "You will come to this Gathering, and you will fight in the battles. And their will be battles. WindClan might be full of weaklings and cowards, but they probably won't hand their territory over until we kill a couple of their kits or apprentices or something. It'll be easy."

A moment later, what Russetfur assumed was Nightwhisper's voice responded, "Don't you have some sort of healer cat, Brokenstar? Can't he fix it?"

Brokenstar? Brokenstar had told the new cat to do whatever he wanted t the she-cats of the Clan? Anger boiled in Russetfur. _How dare he!_ A snort preceded the reply. "We have three "healer cats" and they're worth about as much as pile of dead leaves. One's too sad about his dead mate to do much, one's a she-cat, and the last has about as many smarts as a kit." Her leader had to be talking about Little cloud with that last comment. _You're a kit to him, foxdung!_ She longed to say.

A rustling from across the way made the pair of them stop talking. "Go back to camp, Nightwhisper, until the Gathering. I'll check this out. I think it came from the Dirtplace..." He said the last part mostly to himself as the tom hurried back to camp. Knowing she didn't have time to run or to hide, she simply turned away and scraped earth over an empty spot. "Russetfur?" her leader's voice came, his eyes peering through the darkness. She made the hair on her spine lift.

"Brokenstar! You frightened me." she said with wide eyes, hoping desperately that he would fall for her act.

Brokenstar seemed to, as he relaxed. "Sorry," he said, still somewhat tersely.

"Okay, well, I'm headed back to camp." she yawned largely. "I'm awfully tired." Without waiting for a reply, she padded back, not breathing properly until she was back in the nursery. Gauging the light from the mouth of the den, the Gathering cats would leave fairly soon. What had Brokenstar said about taking WindClan's territory? Curiosity, worry, and fear all blended together in her throat, making it close tight.

_I have to go to that Gathering!_ Russetfur thought. She waited silently, brooding. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she watched the patrol leave through barely open eyes. Looking around to see that Flamesong, Brightflower, and Shadestorm were asleep, she crept slowly out of the den. She thought one of Brightflower's kits might have seen her, but she shrugged it off. They were only three or four moons; they shouldn't suspect her of doing something wrong.

It was a simple matter to follow the patrol from a safe distance, she was only afraid that her trail would be scented when they returned. Stonetooth was lagging behind a bit, which was understandable, given his age, so Russetfur used the sight of his tailtip as reference to how close the rest of the patrol was. As they passed under the ThunderPath and into FourTrees, Russetfur realized that they were a bit late to the Gathering so it would start fairly soon after they got there, so she had to find a good hiding place, and fast. Finally, she chose a young tree that was just close enough to hear the leaders as they spoke and short enough for a quick escape, but with thick enough foliage to keep her hidden from wandering eyes. With a pang, she realized that this was the same tree that Nightpelt had climbed at his first Gathering, when he was Nightpaw.

She quickly scaled the tree and crouched stiffly in one of the lowest branches, but out enough for the leaves to shelter her from. She prayed silently to StarClan that no one had seen her. No cat yowled at her, so she assumed they didn't. She glanced down and licked her belly to comfort herself and to comfort her kits, if they somehow knew what was going on. The Gathering started. ThunderClan, RiverClan, and WindClan reported very little of importance. By the time Brokenstar stepped up to speak, last, Russetfur was completely on edge, her claws sunken deeply into the branch she crouched on. Her muscles were weary of staying in the same position, but she was too afraid of creating a attention-calling rustle to move.

"Hello. I am grieved to tell you that my father, Raggedstar, has gone to StarClan. But he is happy there, I know. I received my nine lives and my name, and appointed Blackfoot as my deputy." There were a few cheers from the other Clans, which Blackfoot accepted modestly, but most of the cats, as far as Russetfur could tell, were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Raggedstar was gone and that Brokentail was now Brokenstar.

"But that is not much of a problem compared to what is plaguing us now. Our queens have had so many kits, my fellow warriors, that we cannot support them anymore. And how bad off will we be in leaf-bare if we are struggling now. So I ask WindClan for help. Please, Tallstar. Our kits are starving, and there are plenty more on the way. You give us hunting rights in your territory." Gasps erupted from the Clan, and Russetfur had to restrain herself from letting one out herself. Brokenstar was lying! They had enough prey, and there were only six kits in the nursery! But he sounded so sure, so smooth.

Tallstar looked at the ShadowClan cats. "Brokenstar, I cannot allow this. The Clans have never shared hunting ground before, and now is no time to start. Regardless, your warriors do not seem underfed."

"Tallstar, do you see that there are no she-cats among ShadowClan tonight? This is because they have taken the brunt of the suffering. They refuse fresh-kill, saying that the toms should keep their strength up to defend our Clan. And look at Brownpaw. He's been protecting us so long that he is still an apprentice because of his injuries. The said tom stared hollowly at the ground, scars clearly visible. He just didn't seem to care anymore, no matter how much his leader used him. "So I ask you again for help. We need more prey, or our kits and our she-cats will die."

The WindClan leader Russetfur so despised seemed to consider it for a second, but he held firm in his decision. "No. The Clans do not share hunting right or hunting grounds. Let this Gathering be finished!" The cats started to dispel without further words, so Russetfur shot down the tree and rocketed away through the bracken, needing to get back to camp ahead of them. She didn't have time to mask her scent, so she simply hoped the cats didn't notice. She ran as fast as she could, which wasn't too fast, considering her pregnancy. Still, ShadowClan seemed to be taking their time, so she made it in time.

She curled up in her nest, trying not to pant for breath, taking slow, rattling ones to slow her heart instead, though it took longer. She pondered what was to happen next. Hadn't Brokenstar said something about attacking WindClan in the bushes outside the Dirtplace? She shuddered. They were going to attack another Clan for no good reason, she knew it. Russetfur stared at the den wall, visions of the bloody battle to come playing across her field of vision.

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**A/N: Did you see the asterisk (*) up there? That's where I quit using the method mentioned above. Couldn't do it. My impulse to correct as I go is just... unquashable. Not that that's a word, but yeah. Anyway, have you heard of NaNoWriMo? I'll be doing it this November... Do any of you do it? If you don't, you should check it out. Just type NaNoWriMo into google. It'll show up. :) I'm glad this chapter's a long one. Brokenstar's a real piece of work. A big ol' corn dog face, in my opinion.**


	33. Thunderpath

**A/N: All I have to say today is... Review, please.  
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Russetfur was once again jolted from her sleep when Flamesong's memory reset. It was not yet morning, but the sky had ever so slightly started to lighten. The young queen asked, "Russetfur? Am I dreaming? My belly... I'm pregnant, and it hurts... My belly... It hurts really bad." The dark ginger she-cat sat up blearily.

"What hurts, Flamesong?" she asked tiredly.

The black-furred queen flinched, gritting her teeth as pain apparently shot through her. "Russetfur!" she whimpered.

"Hold on, I'll get Littlecloud. I think your kits are coming." Russetfur stumbled out of her nest and to the medicine den. "Hey, wake up!" she called into the mouth of the dark den. "Flamesong's kits are coming."

Two cats stood in the den. Runningnose's voice said, "Go back to sleep, Littlecloud. I can do this alone." The second form hesitated, but laid down after a second anyway. The gray-and-white tom followed Russetfur back to the nursery. "This is too early..." he murmured, though Russetfur probably wasn't supposed to hear.

Flamesong, when they entered the den, was holding back a yowl, sinking her teeth into her own paw. Shadestorm and Frogkit had woken, and she held him close to her, their eyes wide with fear. "Maybe Frogkit should play outside the den, Shadestorm?" Russetfur said gently, knowing that there was plenty of possibility that this would end terribly, since it was so early. It would not be a pretty sight. snapping out of it, the dark-furred queen dipped her head and lead her only kit carefully outside.

Brightflower and Featherstorm, as well as their kits, still seemed to be asleep, but if Flamesong was already in this much pain, she couldn't hold back the screams forever. Rather than have them wake to screams of pain, Russetfur woke them, saying, "Flamesong's kits are coming. It's pretty bad. The kits should see this." Her words were proven true as a small puddle of blood formed by the birthing queen. Brightflower dipped her head and carefully took her kits outside, but Featherstorm hesitated.

"Of course. The one night I get to sleep, and now I'm being kicked out of the den. Fantastic. Just what I needed." the queen growled quietly.

Russetfur's ears flattened at her hostility. "Fine. Let your kits listen to Flamesong scream and bleed. That's just what they need." she almost snarled. The tabby queen came to her senses and carried the kits, one by one, out of the den. Russetfur didn't miss the look of anger and misery that Featherstorm gave her.

"Are you sure you don't want to get out of here, too, Russetfur? This could be very scary at this point in your own pregnancy." Runningnose cautioned halfheartedly.

Russetfur gave him a dull glare. "It's not like I haven't watched my sisters have kits, Runningnose. I know it will be terrible. I'll be fine. Just help Flamesong. She's forgotten again." the medicine cat shrugged and turned to the kitting queen.

"Flamesong. I need you to stay calm, as much as you can. I know it hurts, and I know you're confused, but your kits need you now, and you can help them by staying as calm as you can." Runningnose told her, and the wild look in her eyes faded a little. "Russetfur, get me cobwebs, borage, poppy seed, chamomile, dandelion, juniper, heather flower if you can, raspberry leaves, willow bark, and a burdock root. Ask Littlecloud and Yellowfang to help you."

The queen opened her mouth to ask why he would want poppy seed since it wasn't good for queens, but stifled the question and darted to the medicine den as she realized that he thought Flamesong might not live through this, so they would ease her passage. Or the kits'. Kicking Littlecloud and Yellowfang awake, she reeled off the list of herbs, hoping she got them all. The two cats hurriedly tried to get all the herbs, but they seemed to be taking forever."Just give me something to take to her!" Russetfur nearly shrieked.

Yellowfang dropped some herbs at her feet, so the queen picked them up in her mouth and ran back to the nursery. "All this running can not be good for my kits." she muttered around the herbs, which she soon dropped by Runningnose, just missing the blood puddle as she skidded in the den. The first kit appeared to be arriving, but Russetfur dashed back out of the den for more herbs. She nearly crashed into Littlecloud, who was headed for the nursery himself with more herbs. "Is that the lot?" she asked nervously. He dipped his head, so she walked back to the den, too tired to run.

The first kit had come, but it's lungs didn't seem to be working, and Flamesong was bleeding quite a bit. "Bite down on this, Flamesong." Runningnose said, giving her the root. She did, removing her fangs from her paw. Littlecloud wrapped the paw in cobwebs while Runningnose worked. The queen let out a yelp, and the gray tom said quickly, "Russetfur, try and get this kit to breathe. Another's coming." She hurried over and vigorously licked the kit's fur backwards, warming her and trying to get her lungs working. After a couple of endless minutes of this, however, Russetfur had to accept that the kit was dead.

She didn't say anything, though, and kept licking though she knew it was in vain. The second kit, however, appeared to be breathing alright, but he or she was shaking violently. Russetfur closed the eyes of the dead kit and took over licking the second, curling around him to warm him though he didn't seem cold. Littlecloud was talking to Flamesong, comforting her. "Stay awake, Flamesong. You kits are coming, and they're going to be beautiful. I know you're in pain, but it'll be over soon enough. Just stay awake for us..." Russetfur stopped listening, focusing on the kit who would not stop shaking. Runningnose was working furiously to still the bleeding, but another kit started to come, and he had to wait.

Despite the root clenched in her mouth, Flamesong cried out in agony. "This is the last, Flamesong, the last one. Hold on for me, Flamesong." The last kit, a very tiny black and gray she-kit, arrived. Runningnose licked her and licked her until, after some very scary minutes, she took a small breath. With a barely audible sigh of relief, he passed the miniscule kit to Russetfur and continued working on Flamesong. The bleeding hadn't stopped, and he started giving herbs to the queen hurriedly, who barely managed to swallow them.

"The kits?" she asked. Russetfur exchanged a glance with Littlecloud.

The small tabby tom smiled. "They're doing just fine, Flamesong." he lied.

"What-" Flamesong started, swallowing to gather her strength. "What do they look like?"

Russetfur spoke up this time. "Shh. No more speaking. Save your strength. One of them, a she-kit, is black with gray patches. She has long whiskers, just like you. The other's a tom. He's gray with white paws, and he has spiky fur, like Kinkfur's." She said, comparing her kit to Flamesong's sister. The kit was still shaking, but he certainly wasn't didn't know why he quivered, but it wasn't for lack of warmth. She started to put the kits at Flamesong's stomach to suckle, but Runningnose stopped her.

"Not yet." he whispered. "We have to let the herbs run their course before the kits drink her milk. Get Shadestorm in here, Littlecloud." The tom did as he was asked, and she and Frogkit entered, followed by Brightflower, Volekit, Mosskit, and Featherstorm's litter of three.

Russetfur tilted her head when the eldest queen didn't appear. "Where's Featherstorm?" she asked. Brightflower frowned.

"Good question. She ran out of camp a little while ago, said she needed to do something. Told me to take care of these three." Snowkit, Thornkit, and Blossomkit sat next to Volekit and Mosskit, a moon older than them. Russetfur also frowned, gave Flamesong's kits to Shadestorm, and let the medicine cats explain the situation. She herself left the den, wondering what had possessed Featherstorm to leave her kits.

The sky was lime-green at the horizon with the dawn, but Russetfur didn't notice; her nose almost to the ground, she sniffed and found Featherstorm's trail. She followed it at a fairly quick pace, sensing that something was very off. The feeling increased tenfold when she suddenly looked up to see in the distance the form of a cat standing at the edge of the Thunderpath. The cat, who Russetfur strongly suspected was Featherstorm, wasn't waiting for a good time to run across, though; no monsters were anywhere close. The dark ginger queen broke into a gallop. Before she could reach the cat, who could see now was definitely Featherstorm, the rumble of a single monster roared. It flew down the Thunderpath at an impossible speed, and Featherstorm wiggled her haunches like she was about to jump.

Just before she could leap in front of the Twoleg machine, Russetfur slammed into her and knocked her down, away from the Thunderpath. "What-" she panted, holding Featherstorm down with unsheathed claws. "in _StarClan_ do you think- " she had to pause for a breath, "-you're doing? You-" she gasped for air, "You could've been killed!"

"That's kind of the point." the tabby queen snarled. "Get off of me. Let me do this, you nosy bit of fox-dung. This has got nothing to do with you!"

Russetfur dug her claws in deeper when she wiggled. "This is completely my business! You're my Clanmate, my denmate, and you were about to- to kill yourself!"

"Oh so _what_? Russetfur, do you know what my life is? I've been having kits practically since I became a warrior with toms I don't even like just so that there will be kits in the Clan. Now it appears my daughter Lizardstripe's following in my footsteps. Yeah, she's pregnant again. So why should I stay? I've got no business being here anyway. I'm never going to amount to anything. I won't have any more litters, and these stupid toms that pass for leaders now are too bigoted to see that I'm one of the best warriors in the Clan! I'm a senior warrior, Russetfur, but that's not how any cat sees me when it's time to pick our new deputy. No, I'm the kit-mother. I could never be deputy, or I couldn't provide all these little lives for the Clan? Well, Shadestorm's got a kit, Lizardstripe's got kits, I'm sure Snowkit and Blossomkit will have them. Yeah, me and Dawncloud. Kit-makers. But now Dawncloud's dead." Featherstorm ranted, tears springing to her eyes at this last statement.

"I've been alive a long time. Dawncloud and I were not just sisters. We were best friends. We were like you and Foxheart, only with years more. And now she's dead! And it's time for me to go too. Let me go, Russetfur. I might not be the youngest cat in the world, but I'm not an elder, and you're pregnant. Get off, before I make you."Featherstorm threatened with narrowed eyes.

Russetfur carefully stepped off, but blocked the way to the Thunderpath. "Featherstorm, wait. Listen to me. Don't do this. Your kits, all of them, love you. And yeah, maybe Raggedstar and Brokenstar didn't and don't appreciate you for the amazing warrior and hunter you are. But Raggedstar didn't appreciate anyone besides his son after he was born, and Brokenstar doesn't appreciate anyone but himself. I want to be deputy too, but he made my sister deputy instead, and now she's dead. But not being appreciated isn't a reason to die!

"Look, Featherstorm, you are beautiful, powerful, graceful, and eloquent. From the time we could understand that, Tallpoppy and I admired you. You were the she-cat to be in the Clan. And you still are. Please. Just come back to the Clan. Raise this last litter of kits. Teach them to never let anyone do what they did to you. So many cats in the Clan look up to you. So many love you. Don't do this." Russetfur pleaded in earnest.

Despite the truth to her words, despite the hesitation Featherstorm felt at the thought of how her kits would feel when she died, nothing, not all the warriors in StarClan, could've stopped the beautiful tabby queen from shoving Russetfur aside and throwing herself directly in the path of the monster, a huge one with trees strapped on it, that rocketed past. She did not scream as it killed her, which was the only reason Russetfur looked at the Thunderpath to see if she was still alive. What her eyes saw would haunt her for the rest of her life; a bloody smear on the gray Thunderpath, clumps of beautiful tabby fur sticking through it, looking pure crimson and gold as the sun just peeked over the horizon enough to bathe it in light.


	34. WindClan

**A/N: Just over 70,000 words with this chapter, which goes nicely with my just over 70 reviews. I am very, very proud of myself, but I am more grateful to you guys, everyone who has taken the time to read this story. Especially those of you who reviewed or Favorited this story. But it's not over yet, and I hope to have a hundred reviews by the time I hit 100,000 words - roughly fourteen chapters from now. It's been more than a year since I started this, mostly because I suck at overcoming writer's block, but mostly, I love you guys! Thank you so so much. :)**

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"Cats of ShadowClan!" called the voice that Russetfur had begun to hate with more passion than ever since Featherstorm's death. Regardless, the queen got to her paws and padded out of the den. It was late the next day, and Flamesong, who barely clung to life through her ordeal, was allowed to have her kits suckle at her stomach. She had named the she-kit Falconkit for her bright, sharp golden eyes, and the tom, who had yet to stop shaking, even in his sleep, Quakekit.

Brokenstar stood, his scarred pelt gleaming in the sunlight, in front of the cats who had already gathered. "Leaf-bare is approaching, and soon we will not have enough food to sustain us." Russetfur flattened her ears to the lies, not paying attention until a shocking new piece of information passed his lips. "In order to retain the health of the Clan, we must remove the parts of us that weaken the whole. That is why the elders, and anyone who wishes to join them, should live outside of the camp from now on."

There was a collective gasp from the warrior below, except for those who sat closest to him; Clawface in particular looked quite pleased. Stonetooth, the grizzled ex-deputy, got shakily to his paws. "This-" he called to his leader in a gravelly voice, "is a mistake. Even your misguided followers will soon realize the truth about you, Broken_kit_." he spat, before walking stiffly, head and tail held high, out of the camp. Nightpelt, Cinderfur and Ashfur, and several others, followed him. Dustfang looked back at the same time as Nightpelt. Russetfur longed to go with them, but Brokenstar fixed her with an icy stare, reminding her of the threat.

When he saw that she wasn't coming, Nightpelt met her gaze with a look of betrayal and disgust, and Russetfur knew she deserved it. She stared hollowly at the ground. J_ust go! Run so far away Brokenstar will never find you or the kits!_ A voice howled in the back of her mind. But another contradicted it. _You can't go. He might not be able to find you, but he'd certainly be able to hurt your family and friends that remained. You can't risk that. _

"Now that only those truly loyal remain, I am now appointing four new warriors." Brokenstar announced. "Icepaw_, _Tanglepaw, Greenpaw, and Maplepaw, come forward." Two apprentices stepped forward. Maplepaw and Tanglepaw were nowhere to be seen. "Correction." Brokenstar began, eyes flashing. "Two new, loyal, warriors. Appears your sisters don't measure up to you, do they, Greenpaw?"

The apprentice asked shakily, "Where is Lilypaw?" Brokenstar, the mentor of Lilypaw, let out a small growl. "The kittypet ran away after training, probably to Twolegplace. Now, Icepaw, Greenpaw, do you accept the full responsibilities of being warriors?"

"I do." said Icepaw.

Greenpaw hesitated before replying slowly, "I do."

"Then I name you Icetalon and Greenfang. Congratulations. You will sit vigil tonight."Brokenstar said. Russetfur was unsettled at the unconventional naming ceremony, and by the explanation given for Lilypaw's , she cheered half-heartedly with the rest of the cats, her ears flattened against her head. "Now, ShadowClan, we have a battle to fight. WindClan will not defy us any longer! We must have their territory to feed all of the kits. And more are on the way. We fight now." A few yowls and cheers came from those sitting nearest him.

"Oakfur, Gingerheart, and Brownpaw will guard the camp. Wetfoot, you and Kinkfur will guard Brightflower, Shadestorm, Flamesong, and the kits. The battle party will include myself, Jaggedtooth, Blackfoot, Clawface, Darkflower, Skyheart, Duskfeather, Boulder, Nightwhisper, Stumpytail, Rowanclaw, Cedarheart, Tallpoppy, Sleetpelt, Icetalon, Greenfang, and Russetfur."

_What?_ Russetfur thought, confused. _But-_ "She's pregnant!" yowled some cat. _Exactly_, Russetfur replied mentally.

"Are kits suckling at her belly or falling out of her, Darkflower? No? We need every cat we can get to drive out WindClan, no matter how scrawny they are. Besides, Russetfur already agreed. Isn't that right?" Brokenstar asked.

The dark ginger queen swallowed. "Right, Brokenstar."

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Dusk, the time for the battle patrol to leave, appeared to sprint to greet ShadowClan, it came so quickly. Russetfur stilled her fluttering heartbeat, forcing it to beat in slow, even time. She stood by Tallpoppy in the clearing now, as the rest of the patrol emerged from their dens or returned from hunting. "Brokenstar? The others are setting up a temporary camp just beyond those bushes." Icetalon's voice came from a little ways away, and Russetfur turned to see him pointing with his tail to a thick hedge of bushes not very far away from camp.

"Very good, Icetalon. You and Greenfang will sit vigil after the battle." Brokenstar replied silkily.

The white and black warrior dipped his head."Thank you."

Raising his voice, the ShadowClan leader called, "Time to go, ShadowClan. Remember, we sneak up on the camp and then we just attack every cat you can. The idea is to drive them out, not make a point. Follow me." The dark tabby tom led them out of camp, and Russetfur hardly had time to wonder how he knew where WindClan camp was before they started moving.

Tallpoppy walked on one side of her, Greenfang on the other, and Skyheart and Duskfeather just ahead. The long trek, through most of ShadowClan territory, across the Thunderpath, and through WindClan territory, seemed to be over in the blink of an eye, seeing as Russetfur dreaded their destination so. Far, far too soon, they were crouched just below the crest of the hill, the sounds and smells of the camp flooding their senses.

Brokenstar waited for a moment, then twitched his tail and the huge patrol crawled forward silently, melting into the shadows as only ShadowClan could. The silence of the evening was shattered when the leader of her Clan yowled a fierce battle cry, and the swarm of cats shot forward into the camp, where they were met by yowls of fear and of anger. Russetfur, while at the back of the patrol, soon had an opponent to fight. Shrewheart, a skinny brown she-cat, flew at her, and Russetfur snarled fiercely.

Russetfur sank her fangs into the she-cat's shoulder as Shrewheart's own teeth met in Russetfur's ears, while one of the WindClan cat's clawed paws raked down her chest. This was too close to her stomach and her kits for Russetfur's comfort, so she leaped backward, taking a piece of shoulder with her. The cat hissed in pain but started to circle her anyway. The ShadowClan queen's heart was pumping so fast she was afraid the kits would start to come just from stress, but it was early enough for Russetfur to halfway dismiss the thought.

Shrewheart, striped ears pressed so flat against her head they seemed to not even exist, exposed her glittering fangs in a snarl before charging at Russetfur again, this time leaping easily over her slashing claws and landing squarely on her back. The russet queen, with a tremendous effort, flipped onto her back. The warrior tried to leap away, but two of her paws were crushed. The very thin warrior's bones were no match for the weight of a well-built, expecting ShadowClan cat, and they cracked. Yowling, the WindClan cat freed herself and limped away as fast as she could.

Russetfur had started to breathe a sigh of relief when a new opponent, an elderly tom, confronted her. He took one glance at her swollen stomach and snorted. "ShadowClan's so desperate they need their queens to fight for them?

"WindClan's so desperate they need their elders to fight for them?" she shot back and slashed at him with claws outstretched.

He jumped back nimbly, despite his age, and spat. "I'm not fighting you, queen." While Russetfur was glad that a cat from WindClan had the decency to do that, the comment irked her. Regardless, she simply let him run, knowing she couldn't possibly catch him. A white and black tom, probably an apprentice, came at her as she looked around for Tallpoppy. His claws went straight for her jugular, but she ducked and they scored from between her ears down to her shoulder blades.

Growling deep in her throat from the pain, she whipped her tail back and forth, waiting for him to strike again. The patched apprentice lunged again, but overshot, and Russetfur ducked and twisted her neck so that her teeth closed on his side as he leaped over her. He crashed to the ground, bleeding. She raked her claws deeply down his flank as he struggled to bite her when a huge tom slammed into her. "Starlingpaw..." he murmured, glancing at the apprentice. as Russetfur recovered.

He pinned her down, claws sinking into her shoulder muscle. Knowing she didn't stand a chance, she exposed her swollen belly to him. His claws retracted slightly. "A queen..." he muttered, but her status didn't stop him from cuffing her strongly with a powerful paw and biting the flesh adjacent to her spine. She yowled, struggling to stand and fight. Her claws cut into the inside of his flank, but not deeply, and he hardly flinched. She relaxed her muscles for a moment, before gathering her strength and shoving upward desperately.

While the force of it was enough for his large paw to slip down to her foreleg, her still held her until the white form of Sleetpelt screeched in his ear and tore her claws through the tom's dark gray belly fur. With a snarl, he turned to fight the younger she-cat, releasing Russetfur, who shot to her paws and started battling the tom side-by-side with her niece.

He was a strong fighter, but the two aggravated the wounds he had already collected and created new ones. "Thanks," Russetfur said breathlessly as soon as she got the chance.

"Anytime." Sleetpelt replied, exacting a heavy blow to one of the gray tom's ears. At the same time, Russetfur had dug her claws into his side, and as he jerked to the side, they twisted and ripped out. He finally ran off, bleeding from a multitude of wounds. The two she-cats had a fair amount of bloody decoration themselves, but they were better off than him. They moved forward, hoping to find the rest of their Clanmates, when two cats, one a wiry cream she-cat and the other a young black-furred tom, attacked them. The ShadowClan she-cats fought back to back against the already weakened WindClan cats and sent them howling.

A deadly quiet rested over the camp a moment later. The ShadowClan cats stepped over to the edge of the camp and saw that every last WindClan cat was gone. Fur and blood and flesh was everywhere, making the scene even more haunting. Russetfur thought she could hear the faint cry of a kit in the distance and she shuddered. ShadowClan won.


	35. Quake

"Tell us a story, Russetfur!" Falconkit cried. "Please, please, please! A funny story!" Russetfur was sitting by Flamesong and the kits in the nursery, cobwebs covering the wounds she had sustained as ShadowClan drove out WindClan.

Quakekit looked up at her and said shakily, "Y-yeah, Russetf-fur." The little tom was small and thin, and he had yet to quit shaking, which made his speech stutter.

"Alright..." she agreed reluctantly. "Just let me think for a minute. A funny story..." Falconkit and Quakekit looked up at her expectantly with wide eyes, the she-kit's paws kneading the ground. "Okay. I had only been a warrior for a couple of suns, and it was my turn to go out and collect herbs with Runningnose. So I had Nightpelt - he was my apprentice Nightpaw at the time, play with the kits while I was gone. One of those kits was none other than Skyheart, then Skykit, your father. You both look quite like him. " Quakekit drew himself up proudly. "He's coming to visit you once he can leave the medicine den." The tom hadn't had the chance yet to meet his kits, much to his dismay. His injuries from the battle had kept him in the medicine den for the better part of a moon.

Russetfur gave Quakekit's spiky fur a smoothing lick, but it did no good- his fur just stuck up again, as if it had a will of its own. "So once we left camp, Runningnose told me to look for catmint. Catmint is an herb used to cure cats from whitecough or greencough, which usually only infects cats in late leaf-fall or leaf-bare. At this time, it was early greenleaf, and so I asked him why we would need it if leaf-bare wasn't for a long time." The dark ginger queen's whiskers twitched in amusement before she even finished.

"And Runningnose told me that we would probably need it because all the kits in the nursery would be running around licking each other." She laughed. Quakekit let out a shaky chuckle, while Falconkit, eyes bright with amusement, immediately got to her paws and turned to lick Volekit's face exaggeratedly. The excess saliva on his face made him jump to his paws.

Rubbing at his wet muzzle with a white paw, he exclaimed, "Gross, Falconkit!" The tiny she-kit laughed devilishly and dodged around the much larger kit to lick his side as well. "Yuck! Stop it!" Volekit cried, though he seemed to be more embarrassed than grossed out.

Falconkit grinned but stopped licking him. The black and white tom shot a glance at Falconkit, but when she was looking to, his eyes moved away faster than ever. Awkwardly, he jumped over to Quakekit and tussled with him, but very gently, as if he knew Quakekit couldn't put up much of a fight. He had jostled Mosskit as he did so, and she sat up, blinking.

Not saying a word, the small brown she-cat padded over to fall asleep again behind Russetfur, where she wouldn't be disturbed. The ginger queen smiled. She and her brother were polar opposites. Mosskit was very quiet, more clever than any kit Russetfur had ever met, and she usually slept the day away, never wanting to really play-fight. She hardly spoke, but when she did, her words were well thought through.

Volekit, however, was large and strong and a bit slow. Words fell out of his mouth without pause, and he thought that being the best fighter in the Clan was the most important thing in the world. He was always scuffling with Thornkit, Snowkit, and Frogkit, and sometimes even with Blossomkit, Falconkit, and Quakekit, though the latter three were not much on fighting. He knew from a rare lecture from Mosskit to be very gentle with the new kits, especially Quakekit, and that Blossomkit wasn't a good fighter. He had never scuffled with his sister, though, simply because she was never awake or willing.

Brokenstar's voice cut through her mental comparison, calling for yet another Clan meeting. It seemed like a daily ritual now, and Russetfur was tired of listening to his lies. Not tired enough to risk endangering her kits, of course, but very, very tired. She got slowly to her paws, careful not to wake Mosskit, who was sound asleep again, and padded heavily out of the den.

Brightflower rounded up the kits- her own and Featherstorm's, with whom she was left to mother- and told them to play outside the den. Glancing back, Russetfur's whiskers twitched in amusement when Mosskit barely opened her eyes, only padded to a nook between a bit of bracken and the nursery wall and curled up again.

"I would like to introduce you to some new members of the Clan." Brokenstar began.

_Not more rogues!_ Russetfur cried mentally. Half the new ShadowClan was rogues, and none of them seemed to be at all trustworthy. The leader flicked his tail, and and a small black tom with a white chest came forward, a tortoiseshell kit in his mouth. A tortoiseshell queen stepped nervously up behind him, their fur brushing, and a second kit, also a tortoiseshell, dangling from her jaws.

The pair looked very frightened, and their fear-scent just reached Russetfur. She presumed they were a family from the way the queen pressed against the other. "They are Whitethroat, Poppyfeather, Hazelkit, and Grasskit."

Greenfang, sitting besides Rusetfur, muttered out of the corner of her mouth, "Are they more rogues? Or did they come from another Clan?" The queen shrugged in response.

"And also, it is time to appoint new apprentices." Murmurs echoed through the gathered cats, and Russetfur exchanged a glance with the she-cat beside her. The oldest kits were Mosskit and Volekit, and they were only three moons. The new kits looked less than a moon, so it couldn't be them, either. Brokenstar waved his tail for silence, which fell as quickly as a rock from above. "Mosskit and Volekit, please come forward." The mutters that had rippled through the Clan now became shocked gasps.

One cat, possibly Sleetpelt, yowled, "They're not old enough!" Russetfur had a sinking feeling that this would go like the Clan meeting before they drove out WindClan- the cat who disagreed, like Darkflower before, would be provided with an excuse, and his words no mistake.

"They are a bit young, but they are strong and we need more warriors. You are now Mosspaw and Volepaw, and I will mentor you both." Brokenstar said. Mosspaw, who had finally awoken, met his gaze with a mixture of fear and determination, while Volepaw simply looked excited. No ct dared question the Clan leader this time, about mentoring two apprentices - kits, really- at once."Russetfur, show Poppyfeather the nursery." he added before leaping down from the branch.

Hurriedly, the queen led the three tortoiseshells -Whitethroat passed her the first kit- to the nursery, in time to hear Brokenstar tell Volepaw and Mosspaw he would take them out for battle training later, and that they should get some rest beforehand. The two "apprentices" gave their mother a quick lick and padded to the apprentice's den. Brightflower entered the nursery with her adoptive kits at the same time as Russetfur and the newcomers.

"Oh, Shadestorm!" the black and white queen cried, her eyes huge. "Did you hear?" The dark queen nodded. "It's too soon, they won't be able to do what Brokenstar asks... He's taking them out for battle training. They can't fight! They're too small!" No tears fell, but Nightpelt's sister was nearly hysterical. Shadestorm nodded sadly, trying to comfort her friend.

Russetfur looked away awkwardly and set the kit- probably Grasskit, because of her green eyes, on the floor of the den. "I'll make you a nest..." she said quietly. The queen didn't respond, only set the other kit beside her sister. They stared up at their mother silently. Russetfur tore some moss from a pile in the back of the den and squished it flat between her own nest and Shadestorm's.

"Thank you." The queen murmured. Russetfur was struck by the strange accent she carried, btu dismissed the questions rising in her. It wasn't really her business, and it seemed like all Poppyfeather wanted to do was sleep. The trio of tortoiseshell she-cats huddled in the nest, eyes wide open. Russetfur herself was overcome by tiredness, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

A wail of grief woke her suddenly. The cry came from the nest beside her, not Poppyfeather's, but Flamesong's. "What's wrong?" Russetfur asked desperately, but Flamesong only sobbed incoherently. Looking around, she saw Quakekit, lying in an unnatural position by his mother's stomach. Dread coursed through the ginger queen as she rose, the kit completely still. It wasn't just the absence of shaking that disturbed Russetfur, but that his lungs appeared still as well. She leaned down, listening for any trace of a heartbeat, and found none. She leaned close enough that her nose touch his body, which was stiff and cold. The kit was dead.

She held back her own cry of grief. How could Quakekit be dead? Just a little while ago he was laughing and tussling with Volekit... And now he was gone? Just like that? "Shhh..." she said slowly, pressing her fur against Flamesong's. "He's with StarClan now. He's safe there. Safe and warm and happy. He will never go hungry or be injured. He's alright. It's okay. Hush..." Falconkit crouched by her mother's paws, staring at her brother in horror. Russetfur placed a paw by the she-kit, who leaned against it as though she could no longer hold herself up. She wasn't quite a moon old, but she knew that Quakekit was gone.

Poppyfeather stood and stepped over to the black she-cat's other side, murmuring quietly to her. Falconkit retreated so that she was almost completely hidden by Flamesong's belly fur, only her golden eyes peering out. Russetfur carefully moved and picked up Quakekit's body. It being there would only make things worse. The weight of his form was multiplied with grief as she padded out into the light rain.

Realizing that no cats would hold a vigil for the kit they didn't know, she went to the medicine den and quietly nudged Skyheart awake. He saw what she carried in her mouth, and asked, "Is Quakekit hurt?" The emotion in his eyes made tears spring to her eyes. Setting the kit down beside the father he never met, she shook her head.

"He's with StarClan now." Skyheart seemed to fold to the ground, burying his nose in his son's fur. He cried, tears soaking into the gray and white kit's already damp fur.

"Take him away." he choked after a minute. Her throat closing up, she gently picked him up and took him out into the rain. Since there were no elders in camp, and it was the middle of the night, she decided to bury the kit herself. Padding out of camp, she set him down and slowly dug a hole, the rain making the job difficult. Mudkept sliding back into the hole, but she kept digging mechanically, her mind elsewhere.

The sprinkling rain held off for a few minutes, and she managed to get the grave deep enough. She nuzzled the kit, cold and wet and dead. "Your family loved you, and so did the rest of the Clan. We will miss you, and we know that you would have been a valiant and loyal warrior. But you're safe now. Goodbye, Quakekit." With those words, she set him down in the muddy hole and pushed the rest of the dirt on top of him. As she got to her filthy paws once more, the rain started to fall again.

* * *

**A/N: My these are bleak and depressing chapters lately, huh? Well, Brokenstar kind of makes everything bleak and despressing for ShadowClan. Grrr. Anyway, it wasn't very clear in the story, but since Quakekit was prematurely born (why the unnamed kit died), he was born with cerebral palsy, which made him shake. His heart and lungs were underdeveloped, and they failed as he slept. No one killed him. Anyway, I'm sorry this took me so long, it was just really difficult to write. R&R.**


	36. Falcon

**A/N: I'm sorry it's taking me so long to post these last few chapters... My new goal is to publish three chapters including this one before my birthday, which is... 11 days from now? No, ten. Noooo, eleven. I don't know what day it is xD But yeah. I'll accomplish this goal! Maybe...Lastly, the second part of the chapter is 2-3 weeks after the first and is from Falconkit's point of view.  
**

* * *

Volepaw bounded from the apprentice's den, Mosspaw stumbling after her brother with a yawn. Brokenstar folllowed them, perhaps the only explanation for why Mosspaw would ever be up before sunhigh. The pair of them were nudged towards the camp entrance by the ShadowClan leader but Brightflower intercepted them. "How about you eat some prey before you go off to battle training? I know you're upset that it was delayed by the rain last night, but a few moments can't hurt." The queen asked, but before he could answer, she ushered her kits to the fresh-kill pile, where Russetfur was lying.

The dark ginger queen was trying to yield warmth from the cloudy sky, but the still-damp ground only chilled her further. Mosspaw dipped her head in respectful greeting, and Russetfur nodded back. With a huge yawn, the brown-furred she-cat asked nearly incoherently if Russetfur wanted to share the large lizard she dragged off the pile. Feeling her stomach growl as the scent reached her, the queen nodded again.

Mosspaw bit delicately into the prey and Russetfur followed suit. Glancing over, she saw that Brokenstar was giving her a hard stare with his cold eyes. "So, the Gathering is in just more than half a moon... Maybe if you do well at training Brokenstar will decide to take you and Volepaw." Russetfur mewed, making small talk.

Volepaw looked up excitedly from where he was sharing prey with Brightflower. "You think?" and glanced eagerly at his mentor. The black and white tom's paws kneaded the ground as he looked up into the sky, as if he was imagining his first Gathering.

"Impress me at battle training and we'll see." Brokenstar said evenly, still staring at Russetfur, who turned her head as the fur on her spine lifted as she was unnerved by his gaze.

Volepaw, his mouth full of prey, mumbled "I will," tiny flecks of prey spewing from his mouth. "Sorry!" he apologized, making even more bits fall.

Mosspaw, looking a little grossed out, said quietly, "I'm not hungry..." as so not to embarass her brother. Russetfur, however, had kits growing in her and she would keep eating even if Volepaw had outright vomited everywhere, as Oakfur -then Oakpaw- once had when he took a big bite of rotten frog.

"Let's go." Brokenstar ordered and stood. Volepaw immediately launched to his paws and leaped to stand next to the huge tom, while Mosspaw dragged her paws, trudging slowly behind the two toms.

Looking up from her meal, Russetfur called, "Bye!" and saw Mosspaw wave her tail in acknowledgement.

* * *

"Well, everything seems to be fine here, Russetfur. It's still early. You probably imagined it." Runningnose told her comfortingly as he lifted his paws from her stomach. Falconkit let out a sigh of relief. She didn't reallu understand what all was going on, but it sounded like it was a good thing.

Russetfur shrugged. "Maybe. It just felt so real... I thought the kits were coming already. What if they do? Will they die?"

The gray and white tom sighed slightly. "If the kits had come today, they might have died. And they might have been fine. You're a bit further along than Flamesong was, and Falconkit, if small, is strong and healthy."

"And the other two are dead! Please, Runningnose, just stay behind from the Gathering." Russetfur pleaded.

The medicine cat replied exasperatedly, "I can't. I have to talk to the other medicine cats. Brokenstar didn't let us go to HighStones at the half moon, and I must speak with them. Thornkit has come down with something."

"Thornpaw." Russetfur corrected. "And it might be grief. You know that Blossompaw..." she trailed off.

Runningnose looked up, his yellow eyes brittle. Purposefully using their kit names, he said slowly, "The loss of Blossom_kit_ hit Snow_kit_ and Thorn_kit_ hard, yes, but grief doesn't make your wound infections get ten times worse in the space of a day. Grief doesn't make you cough so hard you bruise your back slamming into the den wall. He's really sick, and really small. He could die."

"Fine." Russetfur realized how selfish she looked now and ripped a small piece of moss from her nest into tiny pieces.

Runningnose looked her in the eyes. "Littlecloud will be near camp if anything goes wrong. I've told Shadestorm to send Frogkit to him if there's any trouble. I wish Yellowfang was here to help as well, but..."

Shadestorm cut in. "But she's a kit-killer and will never be welcome in ShadowClan."She growled through her teeth, glancing at Brightflower, who hadn't slept, eaten, or moved in days. She simply stared at the den wall. She had been like this since she walked into the medicine den to see Yellowfang standing over Mosspaw and Volepaw, covered in wounds, broken and dead. Runningnose flinched as he remembered the cry of agony that had sent him running to his den. Brokenstar, who had also apparently come to the den, banished the she-cat from ShadowClan.

"Your kits will come when they are ready. Relax." The tom assured Russetfur, padding out of the den. Before he got very far, Falconkit darted in front of him.

"Why did you ask Frogkit to fetch Littlecloud instead of me?" she demanded.

He sighed again. "The patrol to the Gathering is leaving in a moment, Falconkit. The reason I picked him is only because he's older and stronger."

"But I know Russetfur! She's practically my own mother, since my real mother forgets I exist every couple suns. And Frogkit's bigger and heavier. I could get him faster."

Runningnose met eyes with her and said sharply, "Look, I have to leave now! Face it, you are not as old as Frogkit, and you should consider that a blessing, since he'll be forced into apprenticeship any day now. So go sleep in the nursery like a good kit. It's almost moonhigh. You need your sleep, little one."

He turned to leave and the black and gray she-kit shouted after him, "I'm not little!" frustratedly. Her small tail whipped back and forth. "And I can do anything Frogkit can." she muttered as the Gathering patrol started to leave. An idea suddenly came to her, and she looked cautiously around. No other cats were in sight. And the cat on vigil was not at his post yet. It was the perfect opportunity. The tiny kit streaked after the Gathering patrol.

She kept a good distance from the patrol, but it wasnt particularly by choice. Except for Snowpaw, all the cats attending had legs three times the length of hers. Snowpaw, who was only three moons, was closer to her size, but she was still smaller.

She focused on keeping the white flag of Snowpaw's fluffy tail in sight. She tried to not be distracted by her new and unfamiliar surroundings, but the excitement that fluttered in her chest made her antsy and she often looked around only to see something that she would pause to smell or get a look at, if only for a fraction of a second. Several times she had to break out into a run to see the white tail again. AS they neared the Thunderpath, she worried that she would be hit by a monster when the patrol suddenly seemed to slip into the ground and disappear until she saw them re-emerge on the other side.

A tunnel! She galloped towards it, though her legs were already starting to ache and she was rather out of breath. She stumbled down into the tunnel as she found it. She could easily have stood on her hind legs in it, but a full-grown cat would have to crouch and almost crawl to get through it. She scented what must have been ThunderClan border markers and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Trees started to surround her and she could no longer see Snowpaw's tail again. Feeling terribly claustrophobic, she rushed along the scent trail. At one point she got a bit turned around in all the trees and panicked, thinking she was completely lost and was bound to be discovered when she found the trail again. As soon as she was close enough to hear what was going on, she collapsed onto the leafy ground.

Exhausted, Falconkit hardly heard the other leaders talk until it was Brokenstar's turn. She heard him talk about Yellowfang, though he didn't mention her name. She tried to stand, to start back to ShadowClan territory, but her strength was mostly depleted from her journey there, and the last thing she wanted to do was go all the way back. She honestly didn't know if she could make it. A sudden rustling informed her that a cat was coming- fast. And by the scent, it wasn't going to be a friendly encounter. This was a ThunderClan cat with a slight fear-scent. Falconkit streaked up a small sapling tree nearby and watched a fiery ginger tom rush past, seeing that if she had not run, he would have crushed her.

She didn't dare climb down the tree as first ShadowClan, then the rest of ThunderClan passed underneath her. But her paws were aching from all her travel and her legs were numb from sitting so long, and just before she was in the clear, she slipped, her tiny claws letting her cling to the low branch. With only two or three ThunderClan scents in her scent range, Falconkit considered just letting go when something brushed her tail. She looked down to see that it was a tom's muzzle, and he was staring right at her. Her claw wrenching, she crashed to the ground, knocking the ThunderClan tom in the shoulder. He was a straggler, lagging behind the rest of his Clan.

"Ouch!" he said, more from surprise than actual injury. He sniffed at her. "ShadowClan?" he meowed in surprise.

Falconkit looked down, embarassed. "Yes."

"Hmmph." The brown-furred tom looked at her paw, which was lifted from the ground. "Don't tell me you're another ShadowClan "apprentice"? And what are you doing up a tree anyway? Your Clan's gone already."

"I-" she started. "I'm not an apprentice. I'm a kit. I followed my Clan here because I wanted to prove that I'm just as good as Frogkit, but now- "

He stopped her. "But now you realize what a mistake you've made and just want to go home." he finished. "I did stupid things as a kit too. What's your name?"

"Falconkit." she met his eyes for the first time.

"I'm Dustpaw. It looks like you've wrenched your claw, and I'm surprised you got all the way here at your size. Looks like you might have to spend the night in ThunderClan until a patrol can lead you back." He started to walk slowly in the direction the other ThunderClan cats went.

Standing suddenly, Falconkit objected, "No, I've got to go home. Thank you, though, Dustpaw. I know the way." She limped back towards the scent-trail towards the Thunderpath.

Before she could get too far, Dustpaw padded back up to her, catching up easily with her slow pace. "And they say ThunderClan cats are stubborn. Here, I'll take you to the Thunderpath, but you're on your own after that." He swung the tiny kit up onto his back and trotted towards the border.

* * *

**A/N: I started Driver's Ed today, and I'm in for three weeks, so I am going to be busy for a while, especially with school starting after that, and the begining of debate season! Anyway, I was not aiming for a romantic thing between Dustpaw and Falconkit, in case you were wondering... Just showing that Dustpelt's not a jerk even in his apprenticeship, except to Firepaw, but he's stealing Sandpaw away, so I think Dustpaw's got good reason :/ Aaannnd I will actually be gone for seven hours tomorrow doing back-to-back lessons so I'm sorry, but the next chapter... Might take a while. Not that these haven't but I'm doing my best. :/**


	37. Raid

**A/N: Hello! Driver's Ed is a very time-consuming and tiring thing, but it's the weekend now so I can hopefully get this chapter up and the next one if I'm ambitious. R & R! =D**

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Russetfur lowered herself to the ground, trying to go slowly but mostly flopping down ungracefully in the end. She gave her enormous stomach a few licks. "Kits..." she murmured..."Get out of my belly." Since the scare with them coming early, she had not felt anything besides some kicking and squirming. Now the time for them to come had passed- they should've come suns ago. But since they were moving more and more, Runningnose told her it could be any time now.

"Great StarClan!" a voice came from behind her. "Who moved the Moonstone into camp?" Icetalon exclaimed, staring at the queen.

Russetfur rolled her eyes. "Nice." she said, not knowing what else to say. She hardly knew the tom, and she had no idea if he was trying to be mean or trying to be funny.

The white-furred tom flicked his black ears and sat down next to her. "When are they supposed to arrive?" He asked curiously, his light blue eyes meeting her dark green ones.

"Two suns ago." she replied, still wondering why he was speaking with her now when he had never before, really.

His brow furrowed. "Is something wrong?"

"Runningnose doesn't think so. Sometimes they're just late." The dark ginger queen sighed. "But if they don't come soon I'll really start worrying."

Icetalon nodded. "At least they're not early." his gaze flicked to Flamesong and Falconkit, sunning outside the nursery. " That morning, Flamesong had forgotten again and Falconkit told her everything for the first time. Usually it was Russetfur or Skyheart that had to explain, but once everything was said and done, the black-furred queen was usually just happy to spend that time with Falconkit.

"I suppose." Russetfur replied. "Um, no offense, but why are you talking to me, Icetalon? I don't mind it, I've just never figured you for the type to sit around and gossip with queens."

The muscled warrior frowned. "You're not really a queen. Sure, you're having kits, but before that you were like the most warrior-ish she-cat in the Clan. Well, except maybe Kinkfur. And Sleetpelt. I never thought you would be in the nursery, but I'm certain your kits will be fantastic warriors."

"Okay." Russetfur meowed, cutting to the quick. "I can see two things happening here - either you are hitting on me, or you want to mentor one of my kits. Since your mother is my sister, I think and sincerely hope it is the second one. Is that it?"

Icetalon flushed. "Nope." Russetfur tilted her head and opened her mouth to tell him she could be his mother, but he didn't let her start. "It's neither." She simply waited for him to continue. "Actually, I was hoping you would recommend me to Raggedstar to mentor a kit, but not yours. One of the ThunderClan ones."

Russetfur raised an eyebrow, saying slowly, "ThunderClan kits are generally mentored by ThunderClan cats, Icetalon."

"Didn't you hear?" The young warrior asked. "Brokenstar is taking kits from ThunderClan to train here. He says they're five moons, and Bluestar wants us to have them because they can't feed them."

Russetfur wanted to bury her face in the dirt. "Icetalon, that is the biggest pack of lies I have ever heard. It's greenleaf. And ThunderClan would never, ever give us kits, even if they were starving to death. They'd probably let them die before giving them away, but even if they did, they would give them to RiverClan or WindClan. Not us. They hate us, remember? And the oldest kits in ThunderClan are only like three moons, not five."

"Nu-uh." The white tom replied, not wanting to believe it. "Brokenstar wouldn't lie to me. He says I am his trusted advisor. When we go to get the kits today, I'll be there and Bluestar will give them to us. And then he'll let me mentor one of them. And then when he does, you have to tell your kits how much smarter I am than you." He grinned at the last bit.

Feeling uneasy, she smiled back quickly. "If you're right, then you can tell them."

"Icetalon!" called Blackfoot from across the camp, near Brokenstar's den. The white tom dipped his head quickly to Russetfur before dashing over to the deputy. Despite the dread growing in her, her whiskers twitched with amusement as she saw the resemblance between them. They had the same powerful build and the same mostly-white fur, though Blackfoot only had black paws, while Icetalon had a black underbelly as well as ears. Remembering that Tallpoppy never did tell her who the father of her kits was, she wondered if it could be Blackfoot.

He had been her sister's mentor, and she never did stop hanging out with him, even after she was a warrior and then a queen. Russetfur wrinkled her nose in disgust. Blackfoot hadn't known he was related to them at that time, so it wasn't either of their faults, but it was just gross now. Hoping that the similarities between them were a coincidence. Blackfoot padded back into Brokenstar's den and came back a moment later padding behind the leader.

Brokenstar called for the cats to gather and began, "As you probably know, Bluestar is giving us some kits that they cannot sustain. However, I have reason to believe that this is a trick, so I will be sending a battle patrol large enough to fight their way out of their camp if need be. Since some cats are in the medicine den, I will only havbe a few warriors guarding cats will be going on the patrol: Blackfoot, Icetalon, Greenfang, Wetfoot, Kinkfur, Clawface, Boulder, Nightwhisper, Poppyfeather, and Flamesong. Yes, Poppyfeather and Flamesong have kits, but they are in fine shape to battle and since Russetfur is unable this time, she will watch them. Russetfur, I also expect you to nurse the kits Bluestar is giving us."

_Oh, what a pile of foxdung!_ Russetfur wanted to yowl at the huge tom. You're raiding a Clan stronger than us for kits we don't need, and some cat or maybe more than one is going to get killed! She was almost shaking with anger, yet a small and selfish part of her was simply joyful that she wouldn't be going, and her kits would not be in danger. "Yes, I'll nurse them, Brokenstar." And when they ask me why we took them away from their mother, I'll tell them. Nurse! Nursing kits? So they're definitely NOT five moons! She shuddered, but turned and padded to the nursery, where Poppyfeather was mewing her goodbyes to Grasskit and Hazelkit.

"Russetfur..." Flamesong began.

The heavily pregnant queen cut them off. "Don't worry Flamesong. You either, Poppyfeather. Your kits are in good paws. I will not let any harm come to them." Falconkit seemed fine with the idea, but Grasskit and Hazelkit looked very scared.

"No, I know Falconkit will be perfectly safe with you. That's the thing." Flamesong said, looking up into her friend's eyes.

Russetfur's eyes widened. "What?"

"Russetfur. I haven't been in battle apparently for moons, and I'm out of shape. Not to mention that I have the battle skill of a young apprentice while more experienced warriors will attack me because of my age. There is a very good chance I will not survive this battle, Russetfur." Falconkit made a slight choking noise.

The dark ginger she-cat stepped forward with determination. "No, Flamesong. You've always been a good fighter. You have good instincts, even if you've forgotten most of your training. You'll be fine. You can't go into battle thinking you're going to die."

"That's not the whole problem, and you know it. Bluestar isn't giving us these kits. And if we manage to take them, they will come for them. Here. And they will win the battle. They will exile all the cats that have shown support for Brokenstar. That includes you, and it includes me, and it includes our kits. We are going to be exiled. Brokenstar is driving himself and us out of ShadowClan without his knowing, the stupid fox. And when I don't come home, I want you to take Falconkit to Twolegplace. It's the only place she can be safe. I was never a good mother for her, but I know she will live a long time as a kittypet. Falconkit, I love you, and I will see you again. Be safe, and live as a kittypet, for me. You cannot die. Never forget your brothers. Goodbye." The black-furred queen darted out of the den and out of camp to join the patrol, which was already leaving.

Poppyfeather looked up and gave a silent shake of her head. "My kits will stay with me. I have done nothing for Brokenstar."

"I understand." Russetfur dipped her head. "Here Grasskit, Hazelkit. I'll tell you a story if you like." she said to the tortoiseshell kits. Poppyfeather looked back once more fearfully before leaving. _StarClan, let them return safely. Please._

Time passed very slowly for Russetfur. After a lengthy story and a half, all the kits but Falconkit had fallen asleep around her. Falconkit simply lay there, staring at the wall of the den, probably praying to StarClan that her mother would not be lost as her brothers had been. Though it was actually a relatively short period of time before the patrol returned, seasons seemed to pass. Every moment was like a thousand moments. Every breath took sun_s._ Finally, the sound of cats at the camp entrance jolted the cats out of their trance_._

Falconkit raised her head, waiting for Flamesong to come into the den. Grasskit was asleep with her head on the older kit's flank, so she didn't want to get up and wake the sleeping kit. Light pawsteps approached the den and Falconkit's ears shot up as she raised her head hopefully, only to lower it again when it was Poppyfeather padding through. The queen had several deep scratches and her eyes were wild with fear, though she relaxed the tiniest bit upon seeing her kits, safe and sound asleep.

"Where's my mother?" Falconkit asked in a high-pitched plea.

"Blackfoot! What happened?" came Brokenstar's booming voice from close outside the den. Poppyfeather flinched and sank to the ground, eyes shut tight.

The deputy's voice replied, "What didn't? ThunderClan was too many. They drove us out. Yellowfang fought against us too. She was in the nursery. Flamesong didn't come back."

Inside the nursery, Falconkit stiffened and let out a cry of pain. Russetfur pulled the kit to her, clutching her tight. The pain she felt from losing her fried was nothing compared to what Falconkit was feeling, but the comfort of closeness helped them both, if only by a little. The tiny kit, smaller than Poppyfeather's despite how much older she was, sobbed into the queen's fur, making it looked blood red.

Poppyfeather leaned close and whispered in Russetfur's ear, "I know this must be terrible for you, but there's something you should know. Before we even got to their camp, a fox came out of the woods and took Flamesong. She was lingering at the back of the patrol and she was small and weak, but she didn't even try to fight the fox. She knew she was going to die today, and nothing could have changed that. But she's in your StarClan now, right? So you'll see her again."

"Thank you for telling me, Poppyfeather." she responded hollowly. "You should see the medicine cat for those wounds."

The tortoiseshell shook her head."I need to be with my kits now. You understand." Russetfur dipped her head as the queen curled in her nest with the two kits. The three of them were purring at their reunion, while Falconkit still cried into her fur. Russetfur lay her head down with her cheek against Falconkit's side and both front paws wrapped around the motherless kit, tears falling from her own eyes.


	38. Memory

**A/N: Whoops, missed the deadline. Ha ha, big surprise, I know. Sorry about that. But my internet was out for a while, so it's only mostly my fault this time instead of completely. I think I am going to try and write this story, SkyClan Divided, and Flowers, Sunshine, and Death. Once I can juggle those three, I'll continue working on all the others I haven't finished. (Hunted, the two I haven't published yet but am totally psyched about...) So, updates will either be more regular, or will totally suck. One or the other. Ha ha. Anyway, I know kitties can't cry in real life, but they also don't communicate in English or have organized religion ha ha. Think of it as creative license... Scientifically incorrect creative license. Ha ha. ;) Okay, I don't really know how long it was before the second raid so I've left the timing fairly ambiguous... R&R!**

* * *

"Clawface! Icetalon!" called Blackfoot, leaving Russetfur's side to stand at the mouth of the nursery. The deputy had come to see if Russetfur was handling Flamesong's death shortly after he returned from the failed raid. He called in his two cronies, glancing back at Russetfur Falconkit.

Clawface followed Icetalon to the mouth of the den at a run, and asked quickly, "What is it?" Icetalon dipped his head to the ginger queen nervously before snapping his attention back to Blackfoot.

"The raid was a complete and total failure." he said harshly, the two younger toms looking down. "ThunderClan drove us away with hardly any trouble at all. I couldn't get the kits. We have failed our leader." The deputy stared at the ground as well. "But it has come to my attention that we can try again. Just the three of us, and quietly, not an open fight like last time. It will go much better this way, and we can get the kits. For Brokenstar. I won't let that mangy Tigerclaw defeat you again, Icetalon."

Russetfur flattened her ears and suppressed a growl. "How do you know this will work?" asked Clawface in awe.

"That doesn't matter now. The point is... The camp will not expect us. And that's the opportunity for the three of us to take the kits! We leave at sundown." Blackfoot told them, his tail waving back and forth excitedly.

Icetalon and Clawface nodded and darted away, Blackfoot following slowly after. Russetfur simply lay there, lost in her memories of the cat Blackfoot mentioned.

_A fox was slinking through the woods towards a dark brown tabby kit across the Thunderpath, in ThunderClan territory. Hollyflower had jumped up, ordering "Fox! Come on, you two, cross NOW!" and Hollyflower, Archeye, and her younger self dashed across the stretch of Twoleg stuff. The fox had almost reached the kit when Hollyflower intercepted it... They each did their part fighting against the fox, and eventually it was run off. "ShadowClan will always be my friends!" Tigerkit had told them. "One day I'll help you, too!" _

_Yeah, help ShadowClan? Russetfur shuddered. If by help, he had meant, one day, Russetpaw, you'll have my kits, but don't worry, you don't have to want it. I'll just be bigger and stronger than you and force you. That should help your Clan..._ The hatred she felt for the tom coursed through her, but her heart winced. She still loved him. It was incredibly hard for her to admit, but no matter what he had done, she couldn't forget all the other times they had, and she wondered if he hadn't really meant to do it. If he was just so emotionally overwhelmed and he couldn't control it... She shook her head.

_No! Don't let foolish thoughts pull you into his trap... He is evil! _She clutched at the ground with her claws as if to have something to hold her down. Her eyes blazed and her breath was coming fast_. Is he really, though? Can you honestly call him evil for one terrible act in his life? It might have just been a mistake... If he really is evil, he will not go to StarClan... Are you ready to say that you would want him to spend eternity... Alone? _

_Yes! He should be alone, so that he cannot hurt any other cat as he hurt me even after he dies. _Yet the queen flinched when she thought of his death._ How would he die? Would it be soon?_ She tried to tell herself that that was what she wanted, but she knew that it was not true. She didn't want him to die. Ever. Because she still loved him.

_"Meet me at moonhigh tomorrow night, at the Thunderpath, where you saved me!" _Tigerpaw had said at their first Gathering... His bright amber eyes were so young and innocent then, not a trace of deception in them, not a dream of cunning or plotting. She had felt such energy that night, even after she told him that she wouldn't go, that it was against the warrior code. Just the fact that he had wanted to meet with her made her feel so happy...

Then later that night, Tigerpaw had shown up in the ShadowClan camp... _"You're the only one I can talk to!"_ he had said. His words had made her feel so... Special. Like the two of them had met through StarClan's wishes. But if that was true, had StarClan wished her to be pregnant with his kits, even though it wasn't what she wanted? Could StarClan be at fault for what had happened that night in ThunderClan territory?

_"I love you."_ Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered Tigerclaw, hiding in the marsh, waiting to tell her why he had come... _"I love you, Russetfur. I love you!"_ he continued... It had been amazing to hear those words, words that had never been spoken to her before. She had wanted so terribly to say them back, to make him feel how she felt at that moment, but once again, as always seemed to happen with him, she had to put her ambition first. She told him that they couldn't love each other. That they could never be together, because of their Clans. "You love me too, Russetfur, I know you do!" he cried as she left him again. How right he had been...Yet she had sworn she would be leader of ShadowClan one day, so she could never be with him.

_"It wasn't supposed to be like this..."_ Tigerclaw had said to her as she lay, nearly dead in the ShadowClan camp, just after Foxheart had been named deputy, when ThunderClan had attacked them... Redtail and Mousefur had fought her, beaten her, and she lay in the dirt, covered in blood and in shame at her loss.. No, it wasn't supposed to be like this._ "Russetfur, I will never forgive you if you die now. Stay alive. Stay alive..."_ And she had held on, fought against StarClan, kept herself from going to a place of eternal rest and happiness... Kept herself alive, for him. Because she loved him.

She held her breath in an attempt to calm herself as she remembered the night when it had happened.. _"One day you'll be the leader of ShadowClan, and I of ThunderClan. We'll be Russetstar and Tigerstar, and our kits will be deputies, and we can always be together in secret."_ Tigerclaw had promised, just before everything fell apart. That beautiful dream of his.. Russetstar and Tigerstar... They were like figments of her imagination, some mysterious alternate future... But these kits, her kits, could one day grow up to be deputies, and she and Tigerclaw could one day be the leaders of their Clans... But they would never be together again. Not in secret, and never again. Not after what he did. The henious crime that he comitted was one that could not be forgiven... Right?

Russetfur found herself doubting if that was the right answer yet again. If it really was one huge mistake, she was condeming herself to a dark, lonely future, and him as well. It pained her to hurt him, but if this would hurt him or not she had no idea. She thought about everything he had ever said to her, about loving her, about wanting to be with her forever. Was it all a lie? Or was what happened that night the lie? Perhaps Tigerclaw did love her, and if that was true...

_NO!_ She screamed mentally. _Don't do this! It doesn't matter if he meant to or not, he still did it, and that IS unforgivable. Do not go back to him. Not after that. He doesn't deserve it!_ She took strength from these words and shut out the other thoughts, the ones that reminded her that she still loved him. The light of the sunset suddenly spilled into the nursery, turning the ground blood red, and making her fur shine with light. _Maybe this is a sign that StarClan agrees with me._ I'm no medicine cat, but it'd be better to pretend she was than fall into Tigerclaw's spiderweb again.

_Sunset_, she thought. Blackfoot would be taking Icetalon and Clawface back to ThunderClan now. What they were doing, taking kits from their mother, was a terrible, terrible thing, she knew, but she also knew that ThunderClan would get them back, probably before the night was done. And she would be banished from her Clan. Flamesong was as sure of that as she was that she was going to die, and that had come true... So Russetfur believed it. And she would take Falconkit with her. The tiny she-cat was outside the den, staring at the sky as the first stars began to appear, whispering at them, talking to Flamesong.

The storm that was lingering overhead all day broke, rain starting to first trickle, then pour down. Wordlessly, Russetfur padded outside, leading Falconkit back into the den and out of the rain. She didn't fight it, but she stayed at the mouth of the den, where water cascaded from the top of the den into an icy curtain and stared up at the sky, which was now almost completely covered in clouds, so much that the sun was blotted out, and stared at the one star that was still visible before it was covered by the rolling black clouds.

Lightning flashed, a huge bright light in the sky, and thunder roared through the camp. Falconkit didn't flinch, only sat there and stared. The loss of her mother had shaken the kit to her core, and nothing could faze her from speaking to her mother, even if Flamesong couldn't hear her. But Russetfur knew that Flamesong was listening, and Quakekit, and the unnamed kit too.


	39. Traitor

**A/N: Whoo, it's been a while. I'm really sorry. My internet's been out twice, plus the whole first week of school, which was fairly nutty, to say the least. However, I got m'self some new headphones, and I've got a playlist all ready, so it's writing time! R & R R R (Ha ha that means: "Read & Review Russetfur Rising" Isn't that cute. xD ) OKAY, a note - since Dawncloud's already dead in my fic, though she isn't at this point in canon, let's pretend Nightpelt, Ashfur, and DUSTFANG were the ones to meet up with Yellowfang... And I know the first two's ages are totally off... Oh well. **

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Blackfoot entered the camp, his fur clinging tightly to his skin with the rain. In his mouth he carried a small kit. Clawface and Icetalon followed, the former carrying a kit with a torn ear and the latter with two kits in his jaws. They mewled in fear, though the gray one that Blackfoot held also squirmed and swiped at him with dull, tiny claws.

Russetfur watched from the mouth of the nursery, her eyes hollow and blank. Falconkit crouched between the queen's paws. The pair of them watched as Brokenstar hurried over to them from his den without really taking in the scene. "Blackfoot, Clawface, Icetalon! You got the kits!" their cruel leader's words barely reached them, sounding faint and meaningless to their ears, to their damaged minds. "Well done, my warriors. Take them behind that bush by the apprentice's den. Guard them, as ThunderClan may very well try and take them back. Boulder, Nightwhisper, Jaggedtooth, help them guard the kits. If ThunderClan does not come for them by moonhigh, take them to the nursery. Russetfur will care for them." The dark ginger she-cat blinked as he said her name, but she did not look up. It seemed safer to pretend she remained in a reverie.

"Blackfoot, you have proven your loyalty to me through this act, and I believe I did make the right choice in making you my deputy." The huge tabby tom told his deputy, and the mostly white tom stood tall and proud._ He really believes he's doing what's best for ShadowClan._ Russetfur's mind noted absently._ After all, a Clan leader's word is law. That is as decreed by StarClan._ _But why, WHY did they grant that monster nine lives and the name of a leader? _Russetfur looked at him in disgust_. He is evil._ She didn't truly believe that any cat was pure evil, but she did think Brokenstar was damn close. Then she remembered his kithood, when Lizardfang would nip him, and would deprive him of milk just because he was not her real son, and Russetfur could see a little piece of why this terror of ShadowClan was the way he was.

Clawface walked directly past, and Russetfur noticed that his claws were coated with blood and a few strands of tortoiseshell fur. A quick glance behind her confirmed that Poppyfeather, Hazelkit, and Grasskit were unharmed (though the mother bore stale wounds from the first raid), so Clawface must have attacked a ThunderClan cat, as those three were the only tortoiseshells in ShadowClan. With a stab of horror, Russetfur wondered if he had killed a kit, but the fur was not kitten fur, and was fairly long for how old those kits were. No, he had injured an adult cat. Perhaps it was the mother of those four kits. All the possibilities were grim, but even more grim as Russetfur remembered that ThunderClan's medicine cat was a tortoiseshell. Attacking a Clan's medicine cat was taboo, and if Clawface had violated that unspoken law, ThunderClan would fight them all the harder when they came for the kits.

Time seemed to stand still, rain pouring endlessly from the gray clouds. Minutes had to have passed, even hours had passed, perhaps, as lighting flashed in the sky again and again, deafening thunder closing in around the camp like a swarm of enemy warriors. At some point Falconkit had leaned against the older she-cat's foreleg and fallen asleep for the first time in days. Russetfur had drifted into a half-sleeping stupor, but both of them jerked awake when an achingly familiar yowl ripped through the silence.

"We have captured the kit-killer, Yellowfang!" Nightpelt had called, and Russetfur's eyes grew huge. She had missed the sound of the black-furred tom's voice more desperately than she had realized. His bright amber eyes gleamed in the semi-darkness, his body just visible when another fork of lightning jolted across the sky. Ashfur and Dustfang flanked him, and he had ShadowClan's medicine cat by the scruff. The three warriors were very thin, but hard muscles still flexed in Nightpelt's neck while his fur hung dull and limp from his now bony frame.

Russetfur's pulse jumped into overdrive as her former apprentice let go of Yellowfang's scruff as ShadowClan cats poured from the dens, and she screeched, "Now!" The four of them leaped onto the guards. Her ears flattened against her head as the cats wrestled and writhed in the muddy earth. She extended her claws, muscles tensed, but she held still. How much help could she be in this state- long overdue for her kits coming, and even if she was fit for battle, which side would she fight on. Her heart told her to fight for Nightpelt, but her mind remembered Brokenstar's promise to kill her kits if she betrayed him- kits that could come at any moment.

Then ThunderClan scent filled her nostrils and their warriors poured into camp, snarling and hissing. A bright ginger tom shot past the den and leaped onto Boulder. The former rogue clawed at him, but soon ran screeching into the bushes. Russetfur's breath was coming fast now as her eyes searched desperately for Nightpelt, for Dustfang, and for all her Clanmates. ThunderClan could very well kill them, they were so hungry and weak. The dark ginger queen's own fear-scent reached her, and it only made her feel more terrified. She couldn't move if she wanted to. Then Snowkit- Snowpaw, attacked the ginger apprentice or young warrior that had defeated Boulder, and Falconkit cried out in fear, "Don't!" But the ThunderClan cat only batted him away before being attacked by Clawface.

Russetfur's eyes moved away from their fight, seeing Nightpelt struggle under the weight of Jaggedtooth's heavy frame before he was rescued by a white-furred ThunderClan cat. Jaggedtooth was sent sprinting away, and Wetfoot, the tom's brother, followed after without a thought, though he bore no serious wounds. A loud screech made Russetfur's head turn, and she saw Yellowfang, pinning Brokenstar down.

"I never thought you would be harder to kill than my father!" he snarled, and Russetfur flinched.

Yellowfang cried, "_You_ killed Raggedstar?"

Taking advantage of her shock, Brokenstar twisted and threw her off with a cold glare. "Did you not recognize my fur between his claws? He was a soft and foolish leader. He deserved to die."

Russetfur's mind reeled. Brokenstar had killed the noble leader that had replaced her father. Brokenstar had killed his own father, and felt that he had deserved it? "No!" the former ShadowClan medicine cat hissed before asking darkly, "And Brightflower's kits? Did they deserve to die, too?"

The dark tabby sprang and pushed Yellowfang into the wet ground with his claws. Those kits were weak. They would have been of no use to ShadowClan." he snarled, leaning closer to her. "If I hadn't killed them, some other warrior would have." Brightflower yowled in despair from somewhere near the warrior's den. "I should have killed you when I had the chance." he spat. "It seem I have some of my father's softness. I was a fool to let you leave ShadowClan alive!" the leader opened his jaws to kill her, but that same ginger ThunderClan cat barreled into him foolishly.

He landed on the edge of the clearing, snarling, "Don't waste your time, apprentice! I've shared dreams with StarClan. You will have to kill me nine times over before I join them. Do you really think you're strong enough for that?" It was obvious that if it was just the two of them, the ThunderClan cat would be defeated quickly, but ShadowClan and ThunderClan warriors alike stepped forward in defiance of Brokenstar's rule. Brokenstar saw that his warriors were gone, and he was surrounded.

With a vicious snarl that Russetfur couldn't make out, the tyrannical ShadowClan leader disappeared from camp. Nightpelt's voice came a moment later, in response to something the white warrior of ThunderClan had said. "Leave them. If they dare to show their faces here again, ShadowClan will be strong enough by then to tackle them alone.

"The kits!" An unfamiliar voice called, and the ThunderClan cats rushed over. Briefly, Russetfur saw that Mousefur, the she-cat who had nearly killed her after Foxheart was made deputy, cuddled up to the other kits, while Yellowfang looked over the kit with the torn ear.

Nightpelt came up to the patrol of warriors, and told them calmly, "You helped ShadowClan rid itself of a brutal and dangerous leader, and we are grateful. But it is time you left our camp and returned to your own. I promise your hunting grounds will be free of ShadowClan warriors as long as we can find food in our own territory.

"Hunt in peace for one moon, Nightpelt. ThunderClan knows you need time to rebuild your Clan." The white warrior told him, before turning to Yellowfang. The aggressive she-cat decided to remain a part of ThunderClan, and Russetfur couldn't help but mentally growl, "_Traitor!_" She had lived with ShadowClan almost her entire life, served them as a warrior and a medicine cat, and she decided to live with another Clan, now, when ShadowClan needed all the warriors they could get. The ThunderClan cats left, taking the four kits with them, and Russetfur's fur finally laid flat.

She took in a large breath, realizing she had been holding her breath for the last part of the battle. Falconkit wrapped her small tail around Russetfur's foreleg, and she nuzzled the kit in response. She wasn't happy exactly, but incredibly relieved that Brokenstar was gone, and that her kin were okay. In fact, it didn't seem there were any casualties.

"Is he okay?" squeaked Grasskit from behind Russetfur. Knowing immediately who she meant, she searched through the throng of cats and found him. He appeared to have only a few small injuries.

"Whitethroat is fine." she meowed, and Poppyfeather closed her eyes in relief. Paws splashed close to the nursery, splattering mud onto Russetfur's muzzle. As she blinked and started to wipe her muzzle with a paw, bright amber eyes made her pause. "Nightpelt..." she said in a tiny voice, barely audible.

The eyes normally alight with humor hardened into ice as he gave her a glare that chilled her to the bone. "Russetfur." he spat through gritted teeth. "You are not welcome in this camp. You are a supporter of Brokenstar and his crimes. Leave ShadowClan." When she didn't move for a minute, stiff with shock, he sank his teeth into her shoulder, ripping a clump of fur out. "Get out of my Clan, traitor!" The pain made her jump to her paws, but she was shaking with fear. Betrayal and something akin to hatred glowed in his eyes, and he bit her again, this time near her spine. "I said get out of here! I won't have traitors poisoning this Clan anymore! Get out!" he cried, fury making him unsheathe his claws.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Russetfur snatched up Falconkit and ran towards the camp entrance. She paused, panting, and looked back, and Nightpelt charged at her. Fear making her paws fly, she dashed away from camp, not knowing where to go. She soon had to stop again, for she could not run very far at all as pregnant as she was, and looked behind her to see Nightpelt's dark form turn away from her in the distance, and go back into the camp.

She ran and walked and paused many times, too numb to cry or to speak, Falconkit still dangling from her jaws. A rush of despair suddenly hit her, and her limbs trembled with the agony of knowing she couldn't return to the place where she was born, where she had trained and where she had become a warrior... A ripple went through her stomach, followed by an sharp pain, intense enough to make her cry out around Falconkit's scruff.

"Oh no..." Russetfur said as her legs buckled and she fell to the ground, releasing the small black she-kit onto the earth. "Oh StarClan, not now!"


	40. Kits

**A/N: Once again, I'm late in updating. I'm sorry. Oh, and I have yet another excuse (all of which, actually have been true, but they're still excuses...) I'm doing LeFiWriMo! It's similar to NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, but it's only 25,000 words and it's in September. So I've started that, but honestly... I'd rather work on this, which means I'll probably lose LeFi, but oh well. Ha ha, anyway, thank you so much, all of you. I have over a hundred reviews for this story, I feel incredibly proud of that. Sure, a lot of fics get a hundred reviews by chapter ten or even sooner, but let's face it, I'm not extremely talented so this is a big deal for me. Thank you all. My head is as swollen as a watermelon for the praise. =)**

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Falconkit's eyes widened in realization. "The kits are coming, aren't they?" she asked in a slightly panicked tone, her voice cracking.

Russetfur started to reply but was hit with another pain. Focusing on her surroundings, she saw that giving birth here would be terrible- it was open and the blood would attract foxes and Twoleg dogs... Twolegs. That was a Twoleg fence! Through the mist she saw they were not a great distance from Twolegplace. They were even close to Charlie's yard. Her pride swallowed by the desperation of the situation, she picked up Falconkit kit in her teeth again and staggered to her feet.

_"Not supposed to walk..."_ she thought, but ignored it. They reached Charlie's fence, and Russetfur looked up at the top of it, the task seeming impossible. "Can you jump up there on your own?" she asked Falconkit, setting her down for a moment. The kit shook her head, and Russetfur narrowed her eyes in determination as a pain struck her. "Fine." she picked her up again, crouched, and leaped to the top of the fence with a tremendous effort. Her front claws just gripped the edge of the top, and she struggled up there, dangling on the side for a scary minute, back feet scrabbling against the smooth wood.

Feeling light-headed and dizzy, she stumbled as she leapt down to the Twoleg thing where she and Charlie usually talked, and smacked her shoulder on it, hard enough to dislocate it. Falconkit's hind flank also hit and it would bruise, but Russetfur's shoulder had actually come out of place. That agony coupled with yet another pain was enough to make Russetfur jerk and cry out, making her back half slip over the edge of the table. With her left front leg useless, she started to fall to the ground before another cat saved her. Charlie balanced on a Twoleg object and supported Russetfur, before slowly sliding down with the queen. Falconkit leaped down beside them as Charlie laid the queen down on the grass behind a shrub. "Charlie..." she murmured.

"Russetfur, what were you thinking, jumping on that fence in your condition? And don't think I don't know what's going on, I might be a tom but I know what a pregnant she-cat looks like! And after all these moons of me just sitting around in the yard, waiting for you to at least come by and say hello, even for a second, and when you finally do, I have to sprint across the garden and save you, and now you're having kits in my Twoleg's garden? Why aren't you in your camp?" the white tom ranted, light green eyes huge with worry and anger.

Falconkit, standing on Russetfur's other side, said bitterly, "She was exiled."

After a shocked moment's pause, the kittypet asked, "Who are you? Don't tell me Russetfur had a litter and is pregnant a second time and I never heard a thing about it?"

"No. I am not her kit." Falconkit said shortly.

Charlie shook his head. "The whole of ShadowClan is going to show up in the garden..." he muttered, before looking at Russetfur, who was oddly silent. She was close to passing out, her eyes mostly closed and her breath shallow. "Woah, don't you even think about dying on me, Russetfur. I haven't even begun to tell you how angry I am that I didn't know you were pregnant. I love kits!"

"Yeah..." the slightest of smirks flickered on her face.

Charlie smiled too, but didn't let her see. "This bite on your shoulder... It's really fresh... Who bit you, a pregnant queen?" The outrage in his voice was apparent as he examined the small wound.

"Just my apprentice... That's not... The shoulder I'm worried about... Though..." she panted as a pain struck her.

The white and gray-furred tom took a look at the other and winced. Without warning, he braced one paw on her spine and shoved the leg back into place. Russetfur screamed as cats could only scream, and he flattened his ears. "Sorry about that. It hurts less if you don't see it coming. Happened to me when I was barely more than a kit."

"Kit!" she cried as the first kit came. Charlie, unsure what to do, looked at Falconkit.

The small she-cat darted over and nipped the birthing sack open, a tabby tom slipping out. "Lick his fur backwards. Right, Russetfur?"

"Y- yes." the dark ginger she-cat panted. Lines scored the earth where she flailed her paws in pain. A second kit started to come, and she snarled.

This kit, a marbled ginger tabby, had it's fur licked by Falconkit. "Are - there- more- ?" she asked between licks.

Russetfur didn't answer, only let out a stream of curses. She thought of how, as an apprentice, she thought birth was beautiful. New life, and all that. Beautiful? This was bloody, painful, hideous. The farthest thing from beautiful. And yet, a fierce joy wracked her heart even as a third kit's arrival made her beg mentally to join StarClan.

The third kit was a light brown tom with a white-tipped tail, who started breathing with the first lick delivered by Charlie. He squirmed and squirmed, full of life. He did not flinch as his mother cried out one last time, the fourth and final kit being born. This one was a large dark brown tabby, like the first. Russetfur knew it was over, all over. Her breathing slowed slightly. She stared at the four beautiful kits that had been placed at her belly. All were safe, breathing, alive. And beautiful.

The ginger tabby was the only she-kit, but she was a bit bigger than the light brown tom. They were sandwiched between the two dark brown tabbies. Russetfur's mind noted that they had Tigerclaw's pelt, but she didn't mind. These were her kits, and she loved them so. She was exhausted and desperately wanted to sleep for hours and hours, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from them.

"I'm going to name you Foxkit, after my brave sister." she licked the head of the ginger she-kit. "And you will be Raggedkit, for the ShadowClan leader who will be remembered forever for his noble and kind approach to every day and every cat. "She nuzzled the dark brown tabby who also had Tigerclaw's large claws. Foxkit did too, but the unnamed two did not. "And I want each of you, Charlie and Falconkit, to name one of these two."

Charlie's eyes softened. "Really?" he asked, knowing how important the naming of her babies was.

"Yes." The dark ginger queen still hadn't looked up.

Charlie studied them. "I think you should call him Leaf. Er, Leafkit. He looks just like a leaf in leaf-bare, with a speck of snow on the stem." He nudged the light brown kit. Russetfur nodded, finally looking up to glance at Falconkit.

"Berrykit. For his nose." she said quietly. The second dark brown tom did have a bright raspberry-red nose, unlike Raggedkit.

Russetfur sighed happily. "My kits..." She closed her eyes for a minute, before saying slowly, "Charlie... I need a favor."

"Well I guess I owe you that. After all, I'm the one who disappeared for moons before falling into your den and giving birth, right?" Charlie rolled his eyes.

If she had had the energy, Russetfur probably would have cuffed his head. "I need you to find a Twoleg home for Falconkit."

"What?" the kit asked sharply. "Is that why you took me away from ShadowClan? To give me away, turn me into a kittypet?" Rage burned in her eyes.

Russetfur's dark green eyes smoldered. "Don't act surprised. Flamesong made her wishes very clear. This is what she wanted for you, Falconkit. And I for one will not stray for her wishes."

"Don't talk about my mother!" she spat. "You don't know anything!" The kit was trembling.

The ginger queen's eyes narrowed. "My mother died recently. And I lost my father when I was a kit. And I heard what Flamesong said the night she died. She wants you to be a housecat. She doesn't want you to have to die so young, like she did. And she trusted me to make that happen. And so I will respect her wishes. What we might consider the right choice doesn't matter now. Flamesong's wishes come before anything else."

Falconkit opened and closed her mouth. "I want to be a warrior..." she said in a small voice. "I want to fight for my Clan, and fight for Flamesong."

"And she wants you to live a long, healthy life." Russetfur turned her head to Charlie. "Please, find her a home."

Charlie nodded slowly. "There is a Twoleg couple who live only a few houses away, and their cat passed away recently. They are kind, and they visit my owner's nest often. It would be easy to check up on her..."

"Take her there." Russetfur said. Charlie nodded and picked up Falconkit by the scruff, jumping up onto the fence and trotting away. The black and gray she-kit did not resist.

Her dark red fur showing up starkly against the green plant, Russetfur felt conspicuous, but didn't want to shift for fear of making the kits cry out and maker her even more vulnerable. The kits... she thought. These are tiny lives, tiny precious lives that I must care for and protect until they can protect themselves. She could almost tell the kits' personalities already. Leafkit could not be still. He kept wiggling and squirming around, occasionally accidenlty jamming a paw into one of the other kits. Whenever this happened, Berrykit would growl and jab his paw back, as would Foxkit, but Raggedkit simply moved the paw away judiciously, like a little leader.

Berrykit and Foxkit were somewhat aggressive, but Foxkit was also very smart, using her small size to get to her mother's milk with ease, and sounding so fierce when she growled that Leafkit would take care not to accidentally poke her again. Berrykit, while he didn't have the cunning of his sister, seemed as though he would amount to a great fighter. His size gave him an advantage, of course, but the tom met blow with blow whenever Leafkit got him, and unlike Foxkit, his bark was not as bad as his bite.

Chuckling at how well she felt like she knew her kits already, Russetfur slipped into sleep, happiness flaring through her exhaustion and humiliation, and aches. Even her exile from ShadowClan could not stop her from smiling as she fell asleep - her kits were alive and well. Nothing else mattered.


	41. Sycamore

**A/N: Sorry this update took so long :( Getting acclimated to high school again after the summer is a lot harder than I remember. Plus auditions for the musical were fairly hectic - not that it ended up mattering- I didn't even get a part ha ha. ANYWAY, I know you're all fascinated by my personal life, ( - - Sarcasm) but I should probably write the chapter now, huh? *Note, after writing this, I noticed that while two days ago in the story, it was taking place in "Into the Wild" and now it's in the second half of "Forest of Secrets". Two days later. xD My timeline is so screwed up -.- Let's just say times passes _really_ _s l o w l y_ in Twolegplace. Ha ha. **

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Russetfur stared up at Charlie incredulously. "What do you mean, stay here?"

The white tom suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "I mean that you had kits two suns ago. You have four kits that are two suns old! None of you are fit for travel! And I don't see why you're going back. I hate to bring up a sore topic, but you were banished! Won't ShadowClan just run you off again?"

"It's a possibility." Russetfur said tightly, getting to her paws anyway. Only Leafkit had openend his eyes, which worried her slightly, mostly because she and her littermates had opened their eyes earlier. Still, she remember that Tallpoppy's kits had taken almost six suns to open theirs, so she tried to be reasonable about it. However, it was her first litter, and she was bound to obsess over every detail. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"

She picked up Leafkit by the scruff as she asked her friend, and he squirmed around. He was always moving around and making noise. Russetfur's whiskers twitched with amusement as she thought about the poor cat who would be his mentor. They'd certainly have their paws full. Charlie took the kit from her and placed him in the hollow of his shoulders. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, light green eyes boring into her darker ones.

"Yes, Charlie." she said tersely, but relief flooded her. She couldn't do this on her own. "Okay, the burnt sycamore is pretty far into ShadowClan territory. Will your Twolegs go looking for you?"

He shook his head. "I've been gone for a few days at a time several times, I won't be missed. Especially not with their new pet." he said the last part bitterly, narrowing his eyes as he set Raggedkit beside Leafkit.

"New pet?" Russetfur asked curiously.

Charlie glanced towards the Twoleg nest. "They found a kit somewhere and have been nursing it back to health. The little scrap's really fine, he's just milking their attention for all it's worth. He's a right runt, yet they call him Dragon. What a joke."

"Charlie. Kits are smaller than full-grown cats. He'll grow." she said, his jealousy of the other cat seeming cute to her. Wrinkling her nose, she asked, "What's a dragon?"

The white tom had to set down Foxkit before answering, "It's a huge lizard thing with wings. Sort of. Like, bigger than five of my Twolegs' nests."

"I wouldn't want one of those on ShadowClan territory..." she murmured, picturing the fearsome animal. "Anyway, I'm sure once your Twolegs get used to having the kit around, they'll pay just as much attention to you. Come on though, I want to get there before dark." Scooping up Berrykit, she launched herself onto the "workbench", as Charlie called it. A flash of her fall a few suns ago struck her, and she shivered, recalling the pain of dislocating her shoulder.

Charlie stretched to drop Raggedkit on the stool just in front of the workbench, putting Leafkit and Foxkit up there as well, while Russetfur leaned down and lifted them up to the tabletop. The kittypet joined them, and each took a kit in their mouth and leaped to the top of the fence. Russetfur launched downward first, carefully holding the kit so that the shock of the landing was absorbed through her paws and legs and did not give the helpless kit whiplash. Charlie copied her actions with the second kit, but as she prepared to jump to the top of the fence again, he stopped her.

"I'll get the other two. You just gave birth, all this jumping around can't be good for you. She acquiesced, despite her initial desire to prove she was fine, for the good of her kits. Charlie fetched the last two kits, and Russetfur started to lead him in the right direction. Since both had kits in their mouths, they did not have much room for conversation, and the long trip to the burnt sycamore was made in near-silence. They had to stop once, terrifyingly close to the ShadowClan camp, because the kits were hungry and would not stop mewling.

The tree was in sight when a voice made Russetfur nearly jump out of her skin. "Russetfur?" the voice said, and the dark ginger she-cat whipped around, claws unsheathing and eyes wild.

It was Cinderfur, who looked thin and harried. "Why are you in ShadowClan territory? And who is this cat?"

"Cinderfur..." she said slowly after setting Berrykit on the ground gently. "I..."

The thin gray tom closed his eyes. "Russetfur, I am deputy of ShadowClan now. You are not a part of this Clan, and it is my duty to drive you out. But... I don't know if I can bring myself to do it, not when you have newborn kits with you. But you can't stay here. If Nightstar knew..."

"N-Night_star_?" she exclaimed. Could she have heard that correctly? Her apprentice was leader of ShadowClan?

Cinderfur nodded. "Yep. he's Nightstar now... And he's a damn fine leader, too."

"Well of course he is, if Russetfur trained him." Charlie chimed in, and the new deputy turned his attention to the white-furred tom.

"So who are you?" he asked suspiciously, amber eyes narrowed.

Russetfur stepped forward carefully. "He's helping me move the kits."

"Move them where?" Cinderfur asked with renewed curiosity, his sharp eyes taking in the four tiny kits.

Giving Berrykit a swift lick on the head, she replied, "I think it would be best for all of us if I didn't say." If she told him where she was taking the kits, he'd be bound to say something sooner or later, and this way, he wouldn't have to keep such an important secret.

"Perhaps it is best... I will not go looking for you, Russetfur, but please, Nightstar still feels such anger at your betrayal... He would not hesitate to chase you away, kits or not, I'm sure of it. Be careful..." Cinderfur cautioned before hurrying off toward camp.

Charlie and Russetfur exchanged a hollow glance. A burning guilt singed the queen's heart. _My betrayal? So Nightstar really believes that I followed Brokenstar of my own volition... _Her guilt faded as anger took its place._ How could he think that of me? Doesn't he know enough to know I would never do that to him- to any cat? _She let out a small growl in the back of her throat. Picking up Berrykit again, the pair continued walking, Russetfur's tail now twitching with anger.

They reached the Burnt Sycamore without further incident. Charlie put one paw on the trunk, but Russetfur signaled with her tail for him to wait. "The last time I was here, some owls were living in there and half-killed me." she informed him quietly, having put Berrykit on the ground again. Slowly, cautiously, she scaled the trunk in silence. tasting the air, she scented nothing, but the wind was not in her favor.

Fast as a lightning strike, she looked inside and pulled her head away. Blinking, the image formed in her mind. It was empty. She looked again, to be sure, and she was right. The only thing in there was a single, curled orange leaf. "It's empty." she called down, and leaped to the ground. Charlie brought up Leafkit in his jaws and placed him in the hollow. Russetfur brought Foxkit, then Raggedkit, and Charlie took Berrykit into the now crowded space. He balanced on the rim, not having enough room to step inside.

"Can you find your way back on your own, Charlie?" Russetfur asked quietly as the kits, hungry and tired, suckled sleepily.

The white-furred kittypet nodded. "Of course. But will you really be okay here in this tree? Leaf-bare's coming, and it will be awfully cold... And who will hunt for you?" The concern in his light green eyes made Russetfur smile.

"We'll be fine. I don't know how, yet, but we'll make it through." she comforted him.

Charlie looked most unconvinced, which he made clear by saying, "You can't just leave them in this tree to get food, and you have to get food sometime..."

As Russetfur opened her mouth to reply, a new voice cut her off. "That's why I'll help her!"

Very nearly losing his balance, the white tom swung his head around to see Falconkit, clawing up the tree to them. She squeezed past Charlie and into the hollow. "I can hunt for you, or watch the kits while you hunt, or something." she suggested happily.

"Faclonkit? What are you doing here?" she asked indignantly, Charlie still a bit stunned on the edge of the hole.

The she-kit ducked her head. "I ran away. Those Twolegs weren't mean or anything... But I can't be a kittypet! They made me poop in a box of sand and eat hard pellets and gross water... And they were always picking me up and carrying me around. I was only there a couple of suns, they won't miss me that much. And a good thing, too. You need my help." She said, puffing her chest out.

"Falconkit..." Russetfur meowed, "If I needed help, I'd ask Charlie. I'm sorry, but you are just a kit. You wouldn't be able to fight off an owl and you don't know how to hunt. At this point, you'd be another mouth to feed." She said the words gently, but Russetfur knew she would be cut to the heart if a cat said them to her.

The resilient she-kit just glared. "I can too hunt. I caught a mouse in the Twolegs' garden. Maybe I won't be much help fighting off an owl, but I can fetch you moss and water, keep an eye out while you sleep, and hunt, too. You know I can help you."

"Russetfur, do you wish for me to bring the kit back to her Twolegs?" Charlie asked, ignoring the kit's pleas.

Falconkit growled. "I'll just run away again and come right back here, you know I will, Russetfur!" she warned.

The dark ginger queen sighed. "It's true. Charlie, it's going to get dark soon, you should start back. Thank you so, so much, for everything. For fixing my shoulder, for birthing my kits and for helping me bring them here... I am in your debt."

"And you can pay it back by staying alive and healthy and out of trouble. But if you ever are in dire straits again, I'll welcome you. And I expect a few more visits once everything's straightened out. Goodbye Russetfur. Goodbye, kits. I'll be seeing you soon, Russetfur." With those words, the kittypet leaped down from the tree trunk and started padding to his home.

Russetfur glanced at Falconkit. "I suppose you can stay with me and the kits." she said grudgingly.


	42. Tabby

**A/N: Another busy week. Homecoming week, actually, or I would have updated yesterday. Or, you know, last weekend, when I was supposed to. -.- I worked 13 hours of concessions Friday & Saturday, blech. I DID get a kitten though. His name is Caribou. He's eleven weeks old, and the cutest ball of fluffy black fur I've ever seen. Anyway, I hope you take the time to read these little notes because I actually have a tiny piece of information in this one: THIS CHAPTER IS IN TIGERCLAW'S POV! So, here it is.**

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"You can come in now, Tigerclaw." Cinderpelt said quietly, her eyes wide. "She's very tired though. You should let her sleep." The huge tabby started to shove his way into the nursery. "Tigerclaw!" The she-cat called him back, and he turned, irritated. "I'm sorry, but the male might not live through the night. He's very weak." The sadness in her eyes made a note of fear strike in his heart for the first time in a long time.

Goldenflower lay at the back of the den, her eyes mostly closed, two kits at her stomach. As Tigerclaw stepped closer, he could tell by scent that the smaller kit, a tortoiseshell, was female and the dark tabby that resembled him very closely was the male. He didn't say anything about the kit's condition, but a hint of guilt licked at his heart. He had been the weakest of his litter, and had almost died himself while his two sisters passed on. Could that have something to do with this? He shook his head. Even if that was the reason, there was nothing he ever could have done to prevent it.

"Tigerclaw..." Goldenflower said weakly, her eyelids fluttering. Falling asleep a moment after that, the golden she-cat's breathing evened out. The tabby tom's, however, was erratic and forced. He kept his mouth wide open to breathe, but didn't even attempt to suckle. Tigerclaw told himself to accept the fact that this kit was going to die. Yet Goldenflower such a fragile she-cat... The death of her kit would shake her, maybe even kill her too, and his other kit would die without a mother. The perfectly healthy tortoiseshell she-kit might die because her brother wouldn't survive.

Consumed by his thoughts, the deputy hurried out of the den. He sat by the fresh-kill pile for a while, the warriors and apprentices returning from their various duties and sleepily padding to their dens. As the moon peeked through the clouds hours later, only a sliver, he righted himself suddenly, his paws taking him to the nursery without really knowing why. Inside, the tabby kit was still. Tigerclaw's heart sank.

The kit was dead. Silently, he picked him up by the scruff and carried him out. All the queens and kits were fast asleep, so he knew they would never know. Darkstripe was guarding the camp that night, and upon seeing that it was Tigerclaw that waited to pass, he stumbled tiredly out of the way, not even noticing or caring what his ex-mentor and friend carried in his jaws.

Tigerclaw swiftly buried the dead kit where all of his former Clanmates had been buried, not a tear falling nor a sad word said. He did feel sorrow for the loss of his kit, but he held it deep inside. Grief had no place in his life. Yet he needed to get away from camp for a little while. Think things over and try to figure out how to keep Goldenflower alive.

After a bit he found himself padding along the ShadowClan border. He realized where he was and fought the urge to bite his leg in frustration. Was it coincidence or his heart that had led him here? He started to turn away from the border when a movement caught his eye. A cat poked its head out of the hole in the Burnt Sycamore, looking around. Tigerclaw backed into a shrub, not wanting to be seen.

He watched as the cat ducked back inside the hole for a moment, then leaped down from the tree, taking another look around. His heart almost stopped. It was Russetfur! He would know that form anywhere, though her stomach was distended. He could even tell that she had just birthed kits, looking just like Goldenflower, but with sharp green eyes that contrasted with her dark red fur, clinging to her sleek, muscled frame. _What are you thinking?_ he asked himself, horrified. _Get a grip. She will never love you, not after-_ he couldn't bring himself to think it, pain searing him. _It's true. Russetfur will never love me._

_But... Why is she sleeping in a tree? Why isn't she with her kits? Unless... Unless the kits were sleeping in the tree, too?_ Curiosity took over then. The moment Russetfur was far enough away, he hurried to the tree. As he got close, he hear a mewl and his eyes widened. _Why was Russetfur holed up in a tree with her kits? And why had she left them exposed and alone? Where had she gone?_ Feeling an over-powering need to protect these kits, he clawed his way up the tree.

"Russetfur? Go hunt already! I told you the kits would be fine with-" A somewhat older kit had said, before turning to see that it was definitely not Russetfur, back from her hunt. "Me?" the kit finished her sentence, her fur bristling up as she stepped in front of the newborn kits. "Who are you?" she spat.

Tigerclaw was slightly taken aback. Russetfur had entrusted the care of her kits to a kit? "I am the father of these kits." he answered honestly. "Who are you?"

The black-furred she-kit's eyes narrowed. "Russetfur's my friend. She's been taking care of me since my mother was killed fighting ThunderClan."

Tigerclaw wondered if she could tell he was a ThunderClan cat. "Do not blame ThunderClan for Brokenstar's mistakes. Now, why are Russetfur and the kits sleeping in a tree?"

"Shouldn't the father of Russetfur's kits know? What are you, anyway, a rogue? Loner? Kittypet? You don't smell like ShadowClan." The kit asked suddenly.

His legs tired from holding him on the edge of the hollow, he stepped inside the small space. "I am the ThunderClan deputy, kit." A bright ginger she-kit stumbled over his paws and fell on her stomach, minuscule claws barely pricking the skin of his paw. "You look just like Foxheart..." he murmured. "That's your name, isn't it? Foxkit?"

The older kit just sat there, mouth gaping. After a moment, she muttered, "You must know Russetfur pretty well."

"Of course I do." Tigerclaw said without thinking. He immediately wished he could take the statement back. He looked at the other kits. Two were dark brown tabbies, like him, another a brown and white kit. "And maybe I should know why you're all in a tree, but I don't. Please tell me."

"Russetfur was banished from ShadowClan for supporting Brokenstar, along with several others. She took me with her to Twolegplace because my mother wanted me to be a kittypet, but I ran away. But we can't go back to ShadowClan. Nightstar would just drive us away again." the kit told him sadly.

Tigerclaw took a minute to absorb this information. "So what is Russetfur going to do, raise our kits and you in this tree? You're bound to be discovered sooner or later, and the longer you're here the worse it will be for every cat."

"Tell Russetfur that then. I haven't got any say in where we go or what we do. I'm a kit, remember? Why would stupid little Falconkit get a word in edgewise..." she added bitterly.

The huge tabby tom rolled his eyes. "Russetfur would claw me to pieces if she knew I was here."

"Why?" Falconkit asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

Tigerclaw shuffled his paws. "I made one mistake. One stupid mistake, and Russetfur will never -" he broke off. "Never mind."

Falconkit opened her mouth to say something when a yowl sounded. "Tigerclaw? Are you alright?"

Darkstripe's voice came from a little ways away, and soon he was clawing his way up the tree. "I'm sorry I followed y- Tigerclaw?" he asked, seeing him sitting there calmly with a kit lying across his paws and four others in the hollow. "What's going on?"

Knowing there was no way he could reveal his secret to even Darkstripe, he lied smoothly, "I've come to take these kits for ThunderClan. After all, ShadowClan tried to take our kits."

Shedding all doubt, the younger warrior said eagerly, "I'll help you!" and grabbed a kit by the scruff roughly.

"No! Stop that!" Falconkit panicked. "Put Leafkit down!" She leaped at Darkstripe, who knocked her out of the air with a paw.

"Watch it, kit." he growled, clawing her for good measure.

Tigerclaw, knowing he had to keep his image safe, took Leafkit from Darkstripe. He flung Falconkit at the wall of hollow, knocking her out but not killing her. "The mother can't know any of them are alive." He sunk his teeth into Leafkit's neck and blood gushed out, painting Foxkit's fur below him. Leafkit was dead. He dropped the kit out of the tree and heard fragile bones crack when he hit the ground. Tigerclaw did not flinch.

Foxkit did not know what was happening only that there was danger, bad and pain and hurt and she should get away. She scrambled towards fresh air only to be dragged back by the tail by Darkstripe. She cried out. Where was her mother, who should protect her from this? Teeth sank into her tail near the base and she screamed the scream of a kitten who knows death is looming and ripped away from the teeth. Her tiny, fluffy tail, however, remained where it was while the kit herself ran as best she could in the tiny space until she was falling out, away from the teeth and claws and blood, air rushing around her.

In the hollow, Darkstripe started to go after the kit, but Tigerclaw stopped him. "She's as good as dead. No kit could survive that fall. Grab that one." he nudged the slightly larger tabby tom while he picked up the other tabby. "Let's go."

They scrambled down the tree, not noticing the bleeding ginger she-kit that cluing to a branch by the tips of her claws on the other side of the tree. Tigerclaw waited until they were a good three fox-lengths from the tree to murder the kit he held in his jaws, ripping him apart with claws. The red-nosed tabby barely had time to let out a squeak of agony. "Give me that kit." he said, and Darkstripe instanly passed him the last kit.

Inspiration struck at that moment. "Darkstripe... Goldenflower had two kits, one of whom died tonight. From this moment forward, this kit is him. Got it?" Darkstripe nodded. The two hurried to ThunderClan territory, cleaning themselves of blood and rolling in the dirt to mask the scent of the kit.

Meanwhile, Foxkit slid down the trunk of the tree wrenching her claws painfully, though that hurt did not compare to that of the stump of her tail, which was that was left. She fell onto the hard ground and stumbled over something she realized was the dead body of her brother. Horrified, the kit ran. Foxkit ran and ran, going back to where she had been carried from earlier. She ran.


	43. Never

**A/N: Stupid bug project is keeping me really busy, sorry for only updating as often as I am... Anyway, I will probably reach 100,000 words in the next seven or eight chapters... Isn't that an exciting landmark? No? Well, probably not, but it's definitely exciting for me seeing as my second longest story is you know.. 18,000 words. Ha ha. Maybe once I get there, I'll attract some more reviewers? I know some people (myself) troll for fics only with 100,000 words half the time, so... Maybe I should shut up and write the chapter now? Okay. Crap, one last thing: Looking back at the previous chapter, I made it really unclear, but Tigerclaw kidnapped Raggedkit, not Leafkit. The latter, sadly, is with StarClan now.**

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Foxkit was utterly exhausted. It had only been moments before when the first few drops of water fell from the sky, but now it was crashing down in torrents. The only thing that kept the kit going while the rain pelted the stump of her tail was the sight of a tall fence. It seemed so close, yet no closer while stumbled toward it. Near-delusional, she ignored the pain in what used to be her tail and struggled on. I'll be dead soon, and none of this will matter. But If I could just reach that... That thing... My mother will find me. She thought, not knowing the word for a fence.

It seemed like a lifetime had passed before Foxkit reached it. Tensing her exhausted muscles, she leaped at the top of the fence, and fell short. Far short. Only a quarter up the fence, her tiny claw caught a knot painfully. The sudden shock made her rip it from the fence, but with her other claws extended, her fall to the ground was prolonged. Prolonged and_ loud_.

Several seconds later, a drenched white tom perched on the top of the fence, staring down at her. Squinting through the sheets of precipitation, a flare of recognition and fear flashed in the cat's light green eyes, and he leaped down next to her. "Where is Russetfur? What happened to your tail? Why are you here?" The relief of having found someone who didn't want to kill her crashed over her, and she nearly passed out, legs shaking.

"K-killed them. Brown tom cat. Bit my...tail." The kit knew only a few words that the adult cats had spoken in her presence, but the word "kill" would forever haunt her. Her first word. "They're... They're all dead!" the realization her only real family were truly gone, dead, struck her, and tears spilled out. Exerted beyond her capabilities and faint from grief and blood loss, the kit passed out.

"Russetfur...is dead?" Charlie murmured. "The other kits... all dead..." His white fur, dry and warm only minutes before, clung to his skin and made him shiver furiously. "Dead..." His spring green eyes were wide with shock. Memories whistled through his head. Finding Russetfur in his garden, stealing his Twolegs' plants, her apprehensive expression when she saw him... Then later, dropping the medicine and wrestling in the grass..."Russetfur, you're my best friend!"...The beautiful dark she-cat struggling over his fence, heavy with kits. Had he really never told Russetfur that he loved her?

Brown tom cat... Could Tigerclaw have been the one to kill them? He both fit the description and had the motivation- Russetfur had told him the whole story before she left, and if he was capable of that, then was he capable of killing his own kits? His once-mate? Yes. Something told Charlie that this cat was most definitely capable of it- and that he was most definitely the one who had killed his Russetfur. And now, it was Tigerclaw's turn. Narrowing eyes that were blazing with fury, Charlie took Foxkit in his jaws and leaped to the top of the fence, then down and to the cat flap where he made his ins and outs. Thrusting through, he laid the kit on the linoleum and turned away to leave his owners' nest forever. He never looked back.

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Russetfur padded swiftly towards the Burnt Sycamore, which loomed closer with every her jaws, she carried a lizard and a vole, and she had eaten a small frog while she was hunting, too. She was going to hunt more, but the nervousness of being away from her kits for so long wouldn't let her. Now that she was on her way back, she was a little less worried and a little more grateful for the nourishment she held in her jaws. She closed her eyes momentarily and inhaled the scent of her kill. Another scent, however, intruded her nose. Blood?

Not the blood of her prey, of course, but the harsh, metallic tang of cat blood hung faintly in the air, though she could only smell it if she breathed deeply enough. Motherly instinct took over then, shutting of thoughts and feelings and just making her sprint at full tilt towards her makeshift home. Still far from in shape, her legs simply would ot carry her as far as fast as she would like them too.

The closer she got to the tree, the more thoughts trickled into her head. A still, tiny form appeared at the base of the tree, and her heart stopped. _No!_ But the scent filled her nose as rain just started to trickled down from the gloomy clouds. The scent of blood and death and family and Leafkit. She reached his body, legs shaking, and nosed him. Teeth marks of an adult cat were visible in his neck, blood pooled around him. Nudging his still form with her muzzle, he didn't respond, but his neck and scent already told her that. Leafkit was dead, and he hadn't fallen out of the tree. _No, no, please..._ She pleaded silently in her head to no avail. He was gone, and he was never coming back.

She launched herself up the tree. Falconkit was slumped at the back of the hollow, blood coating her fur. Russetfur's nest, her home, her sanctuary, was painted with blood and torn apart. She tore down the tree, needing to find her other kits. She had to know if they were alive or dead. The rain was starting to hide the scent of this tragedy, so she immediately planted it to the ground. What she scented made her jerk upright with horror. She smelled Raggedkit, more blood, Berrykit... And Tigerclaw. Could... Could he have killed them? The shock of such a crime was too dumbfounding for her to process in this state, so she simply followed the scent trail. It led her to another dead kit.

"Berrykit..." the word wrenched itself from her throat. His bright red nose was cut, his throat slashed. A primal, hollow scream ripped through her. Another came, soon after the first, shredding and hardly justifying what Russetfur was feeling. The grief and shock and fear and horror left little room for any coherent thoughts. More ripping screeches came as she stared at the dead body of her son. A son who had been killed by his father. Her kits, pure and helpless, were murdered. Gone.

Russetfur ripped at the sodden ground as rain fell harder. Churning the earth with her paws, white-hot anger slipped through her every vein, mingling with the overwhelming pain in a way that made the queen wish that it was Tigerclaw's mangy throat being slashed by her claws instead of dirt. The muddy soil flew everywhere, splashing and crumbling into her fur, caking in it. Out of breath, she paused, a good-sized hole formed already. The anger faded as she looked at what she had done. Unthinkingly, she had made a grave. The dark red she-cat carefully set Berrykit in the hole.

She plodded back to the Sycamore, the blood-stench now familiar, and carefully picked up Leafkit's dead body. She carried him slowly to the hole and placed his broken, bloody body in the hole with his brother. "My..." she swallowed, tears pricking her eyes. "My kits. I will remember you forever, until I join you in StarClan. I hope you find Raggedkit and Foxkit and Falconkit there, and you can all..." she had to pause again, a sob cutting her off. "You can all play together and wait for me. Mommy loves you so much. Wait for me." Tears fell hard and fast now, making the muddy dirt even wetter as she scraped it over the kits with shaking limbs.

The muddy queen stumbled back to the Sycamore, not having anywhere else to go. Sniffing around aimlessly, she found something she wished desperately she hadn't- a bloody bright ginger tail. "STARCLAN, WHY?" she cried incoherently. "WHY DID YOU LET HIM MUTILATE MY BABIES?" Foxkit's tail was yet another reminder that her kits - her whole world - were gone forever, and they hadn't just passed on in their sleep. They were murdered, gruesomely and painfully. She flinched, thinking of the pain and fear her kits must have felt before they died. She wouldn't wish that upon any cat, but for it to happen to her kits... It was too much.

The images of her family's shattered and gory corpses would not leave her mind, just kept reeling by like a horrific slideshow. Shuddering and shaking, Russetfur's body wracked with dry sobs. Hours passed, the russet she-cat crying and shaking and sitting in the rain, her pelt slicked to her freezing skin, ears flat against her head. No more tears fell, the queen too dehydrated to produce many. Eventually her legs collapsed and she splashed into the mud puddle that had formed beneath her. Her dark ginger fur became even more caked with dirt and grime, even peppering her glassy eyes. She blinked it away, ignoring the harsh sting.

The sun peeked over the horizon as the rain began to abate, and her fur dried into stiff, muddy spikes. Russetfur closed her eyes and pretended she was sleeping, though sleep would have eluded her even if she tried to slip into it. She still shook from cold, but the reality that no matter how hard she cried and screamed and wished, there was nothing she could do for her kits now. She had let them die, alone and scared, and she would never forgive herself for that.


	44. Sickness

**A/N: I feel like a jerk for not updating in so long. More than a jerk, but I can't say those words here. I'm sorry it's been so long. I'm not going to give you any excuses. I'm just sorry.  
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Death. It is always waiting, somewhere in the background. Everyone knows it's there, and they know sooner or later it will come for them or their loved ones...Yet it never fails to surprise them, when they learn they are about to die, or that they only have so long with their loved ones. Death sneaks obviously towards them, and they manage still to close their eyes, cover their ears, and say "I can't hear you!" right up until the very moment that he stands before you, waiting.

Russetfur stared blankly at the back wall of the hollow. Falconkit's blood had dribbled grotesque patterns, and her ear was smashed and deformed, but neither of these things invited the queen's shock. No, it was the shallow breaths the kit took every moment. That Falconkit was alive was too beyond Russetfur that she could barely manage to step shakily towards her and began grooming the kit's blood-soaked fur. Motherly instinct had now completely taken over, and she sat down and licked the black fur, drawing the kit close to keep her warm.

Memories flooded through her as she licked this kit. She remembered being a kit herself only vaguely; the comfort of the nursery, her own mother grooming her and fawning over Cedarheart, but mostly her impatience. She couldn't wait to be an apprentice, and when she was finally granted that opportunity, she drove Hollyflower half mad. She was always ready to do battle training. She was even excited to go hunting for the Clan, though she was never a great hunter. But the battle training! She was so full of fire and always looking for an opportunity to get into a real battle, where she could put all her training to real use.

There was, of course, the incident of the fox stalking Tigerclaw when he was a kit, but that was before she knew how to fight at all. Pure, instinctual fighting happened there, but she craved more knowledge. Her next fight outside of battle training didn't really count, either; Blackfoot had goaded her into fighting him, and that was quickly broken up. Not too soon after that, however, she got her fight.

While hunting, she ended up combining the two main duties of an apprentice in one; she fought and killed an owl to bring back to the Clan as fresh-kill. Owlflight had actually been named after that incident. She had taken pride in that from then on. But her first Clan skirmish.. That was terrifying. Whitewater lost her eye in that fight, and though Russetfur was made a warrior for her bravery in that battle, she would never look back on it proudly, for it was but a scar on her memory.

Flash forward to training Nightpelt and Whitewater in conjunction... They got so jealous of each other, she found out later. Of course, now Nightstar is leader of the Clan and hates her for supporting Brokenstar. But that doesn't mean she's forgotten all the times they spent together when he didn't hate her. They were close friends, more than mentor and apprentice.

Until he banished her. He didn't just banish an "unfaithful" warrior, though. He banished his ex-mentor, while she was very pregnant. Russetfur's indignancy at this sparked life into her. Refusing to let any thoughts of Tigerclaw into her head, she decided to go into the ShadowClan camp, have another queen care for Falconkit, and explain to Nightstar why he was wrong for banishing her. She had to go back to ShadowClan. It was her whole life, now that her kits were gone.

The grief still made her ache and want to cry and never get to her paws, but she shoved it away. She could deal with it later. Russetfur picked up Falconkit very gently by the scruff, but the kit cried out in pain so the warrior placed her in between her shoulder blades before slinking out onto a near branch. Widening her jaws, she picked the kit up around the middle, leaving her damaged neck from further injury.

Clawing down the tree precariously, she started walking to the ShadowClan camp through the heavy fog. Russetfur glanced back only once, swallowing her feelings and shoving them away for later consult.

* * *

Russetfur crouched behind a shrub, out of breath. She was just outside of ShadowClan camp, the walk there physically tiring for her, as she was still out of shape from the pregancy. Falconkit's wounds had started bleeding again, and she still hadn't woken up. I need a medicine cat, quick! Russetfur thought, and steeled herself. She stood up on her shaking legs, and padded into the camp.

There were only three cats not in their dens or wandering about. The first she came across was Vinesplash, guarding the camp. "R-Russetfur?" the younger warrior stammered. "What are you doing here? You were banished! I-I'll have to drive you off if you don't leave!" she blustered uncertainly.

"Vinesplash." Russetfur warned after putting Falconkit gently on the ground. "This kit needs to see Runningnose right now, before she dies. And I.. I need to speak with Nightstar. If you do not let me pass, Falconkit will die and I will have to fight you. Don't make me do that." She cautioned, an edge to her tone. Vinesplash looked at her a moment longer, then stepped aside.

The first thing Russetfur noticed about ShadowClan camp was the scent. The whole camp reeked of sickness and death. Wrinkling her nose, she padded carefully to the medicine den, stumbling once over an old prey bone. Blinking through the mist, she smelled that the sick smell was emanating from the den itself. Just outside, she set the kit down again and called, "Runningnose!"

The medicine cat's gray and white face poked out of the den. His irritated scowl turned into shock when he saw who it was. "Russetfur! What in StarClan -" the ginger she-cat waved her tail for silence.

"Falconkit is injured. Badly. I need you to help her. " they both looked down at the kit, then at each other. Runningnose's eyes held uncertainty. "What? She wasn't banished, I know you can help her!" The she-cat cried.

He blinked. "Yes, I can... But I don't know if she will make it. And even if she does... She could contract the sickness. I don't think she should be here. Cats have died since you were banished, Russetfur!"She stepped back in surprise, eyes widening in question.

"Brightflower and Brownpaw are dead. Greenfang is soon to join them, and Ashfur, too."He said sadly, clawing at the dirt. "There's nothing I can do to help them, Russetfur! I can't find anything, no herb or remedy that will even ease their passage, let alone cure it. Get away from here, far away. And take that kit with you!"

Russetfur replied shakily, "Runningnose... If I take her, she'll die. I don't know how to help her!"

"I'll tell you; First, keep her from losing anymore blood with cobwebs, then you'll have to get Willow Bark from twolegplace, and make a poultice of it with horsetail to put on the wounds. Cover it with cobwebs again and see if she pulls through. Now, get out of this camp and wash yourself off in a stream after." He explained in a rush.

Russetfur nodded and turned to go, but he stopped her. "Wait! One more thing... I want you to take a few others with you. Thornkit's already infected, but Snowkit still has a chance. Take him with you, as well as Poppyfeather and her kits. Since she was a kittypet, she is protected by Twoleg medicine. Her kits are still in danger, though. Now, go!" The she-cat dipped her head in determination.

Russetfur picked up Falconkit in her jaws and padded swiftly to the nursery. Poppyfeather's eyes grew wide as she entered. before she could say anything, the red-furred warrior cut her off. "Yes, it's me. I know you probably don't want to trust me right now, but Runningnose has ordered me to take you, your kits, and Snowkit away from here, so you don't get the sickness. Will you please come with me now? We have to leave immediately."

The tortoiseshell absorbed the information well. "Yes, yes of course. Hazelkit, Grasskit, come along. I think Snowkit is in the apprentice's den. Nightstar changed his name back, but he likes to pretend he's still an apprentice." A tiny smile appeared on the queen's face. "I'll get him."

"Okay. Hazelkit, Grasskit, follow me." russetfur instructed leading them out of the den and over to Vinesplash to explain the situation. "I know what this looks like." she said as Vinesplash stood up threateningly. "But Runningnose has told me to leave and take them with me, along with Poppyfeather and Snowkit, so they don't get sick."

The black and white she cat's long tail waved back and forth agitatedly. "I.. I believe you. I know you wouldn't lie to me, Russetfur. A-And... If this is the l-last time I see y-you... I j-just want you to know that I n-never thought you were a traitor and I w-wish only the best for you."

"Thank you, Vinesplash." She replied sincerely. Poppyfeather, with Snowkit trailing behind, walked up behind her. "Goodbye."

The six of them left camp, Poppyfeather taking a turn at carrying Falconkit. They paused a little outside of camp, when Snowkit asked, "Where are we going, Russetfur?" which made her stop and think.

She couldn't go to Charlie's, with all these cats with her... "Russetfur, where are your kits?" Hazelkit asked. "I want to play with them!"

"They're in StarClan, Hazelkit." she answered shortly, the words torturous. She also couldn't go back to the Burnt Sycamore, because of that. She needed a place that was safe, dry, and warm. A place close by, so they could return to ShadowClan at a moment's notice, but also a place far enough for them not to get the sickness. Russetfur wanted to stay in the territory, as it was the only place she knew how to hunt, but if she was caught by Nightstar or the more aggressive members of the Clan, they could drive her off and leave Poppyfeather and all the kits in a tough spot. She looked up at the darkening sky, and noticed that there was only a tiny sliver of moon left, which gave her an idea.

She got to her paws and announced, "We are going to the tunnel under the Thunderpath, for now. It's almost a full moon before the next Gathering, so we'll be safe there, for now. Let's go." The entourage made only one stop, which was to gather some cobwebs from a broken off stump and bind Falconkit's wounds them. Once they got to the tunnel, Poppyfeather asked, "Russetfur, if I take care of the kits here, will you get some stuff to build a nest? It's not too comfortable right now..." she stated, glancing at the hard, damp stone floor with only a few sodden stems for nest materials.

"Sure..." Russetfur said after a moment, though she was tired from the journey. She knew she couldn't expect an ex-kittypet and a bunch of kits to tough it out in such conditions. So she left the den, back out into the cold, misty air. The late leaf-bare left little vegetation for this, but she was able to find a bit of moss off of a rock, as well as some less soft but dry grass and feathers from what was once a bird's nest. She carried her load uneasily back to the tunnel, where Snowkit was bragging about his hunting skills to Hazelkit and Grasskit.

Finding the driest spot in the tunnel, she made a large nest for Poppyfeather and the kits, leaving a bit of dry grass for herself. "I think we should get some rest, okay?" she urged, and though it was barely sundown, the kits did not argue. All of them were tired from the journey, and Falconkit had still not reached full consciousness.

"Russetfur, are you really alright with just that clump of dead grass?" Poppyfeather asked worriedly as the kits curled up by her stomach.

The warrior dipped her head. "I'm fine." Snowkit approached them awkwardly, and seeing that there wasn't much room in the real nest for him, he padded boldly over to Russetfur.

"I'll keep you warm, then!" he smiled, and cuddled up by her stomach. This simple action, so familiar, made tears spring to Russetfur's eyes in memory of her own kits, who would never lie at her belly again. She turned her head away to hide her feelings from the others, but laid her fluffy tail on the white tom.


	45. Juniper

"Russetfur! I'm hungry!" Snowkit cried pouncing on her stomach. The ginger she-cat rolled her eyes and sighed. "What? It's not my fault that my stomach is empty." he said snootily, nose in the air.

The she-cat got to her paws and calmly replied, "It isn't empty, Snowkit. You had a mouse past sunhigh. It's not even moonrise!" she shook her head in disdain, but stretched to leave the tunnel anyway, stepping delicately over the snoozing Poppyfeather, a bandaged Falconkit curled at her stomach between Grasskit and Hazelkit.

"I'm growing!" the white tom said indignantly, before scrabbling to the area in front of her. "Can I come with you? You can teach me how to hunt, so you don't have to do it all by yourself." He ruined the kind gesture by adding, "I could probably do better than you anyway. You're not very good at hunting, are you."

The red-furred warrior glowered at him silently for a moment, then muttered, "Gee, thanks." and turned to leave.

"Please can I come with you, Russetfur? Please please please please please!" he begged, dancing about by her paws. "I'll be good! I'll catch on real fast, I promise. Hunting doesn't seem very difficult to me..." The kit's pleading, bright yellow eyes bored into her mind.

Her brain battled with itself for a few seconds before she acquiesced. "Fine! But once we get back to the Clan, you're not to tell anyone. I shouldn't be teaching you before you're an apprentice. Okay?" THe kit grinned and nodded, dashing out of the tunnel without looking back. Russetfur nudged the queen awake. "I'm going out hunting, and taking Snowkit along. We'll be back soon." Poppyfeather dipped her head drowsily and returned to her nap.

The warrior exited the den only to be pounced on again by Snowkit. "You take forever! No wonder you're a bad hunter!" he mewed, running about and letting the words spill out of his mouth without thinking, as per usual.

"Thanks." Russetfur said sourly, then started off, Snowkit running behind her to catch up. The two of them did not speak as they traveled over the cold ground. Finally, they came upon a grove of small shrubs, and Russetfur breathed, "Okay, follow me. We need to get downwind of those frogs." she nodded at a pair of small frogs crouching beneath the branches of a shrub, their lower halves invisible in the murky puddle water. The two cats circled silently around to the other side, the light breeze now blowing the frogs' scent right at them.

"Okay, now, copy my crouch." Snowkit mimicked the hunting crouch to a T, which made the older cat smile as she reminded him, "Remember to always check for other prey or predators around. The last thing you want is to pounce on a mouse and then get carried off by a crow. or to catch a scrawny mouse while scaring off a big lizard." He obediently looked all around, but Russetfur scanned the environment as well, just in case the young tom missed something. When she turned her gaze to the sky, she saw the moon, luminous silver-white against a navy background."Oh no..." she cried, making the two frogs leap away. "Come on, Snowkit, we have to go!" the red warrior urged, dashing back the way they came.

"What about the frogs?" the kit panted, confused. He had to near-sprint to keep up with the older feline.

Russetfur, seeing that he was falling behind, grabbed him by the scruff and deposited him on her back, then speeding up her pace. "The moon, Snowkit! The Gathering is tonight!" Panic edged into her voice, and she moved her legs even faster.

"So?" the white-furred tom inquired, still bewildered. A moment later, the answer to his own question came to him. They had to get Poppyfeather and the kits out of the tunnel, before they were discovered! With the tunnel just in sight, Snowkit flung himself off of Russetfur's back and sprinted the rest of the way there, edging ahead of the older cat, due to her fatigue. "Poppyfeather, wake up!"

Russetfur tore apart the nests, leaving a scattering of grass and moss that hardly hinted of their presence. "What's going on?" the tortoiseshell queen asked groggily.

"The Gathering!" Russetfur meowed, whereupon the queen's eyes grew wide. "Get the kits out, to the juniper patch just over the rise. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Poppyfeather dipped her head, hastily putting the frail Grasskit on her back and leading Snowkit and Hazelkit out, paws moving quickly. Russetfur very gently scooped up Falconkit in her jaws, glancing back at their temporary home, and ran to the group of juniper plants. She set the injured kit down by Poppyfeather, who was crouched fearfully under one of the bushes, kits huddled around her with wide eyes. As Russetfur tasted the fear-scent Grasskit and Hazelkit were exuding, she flattened her ears against her head. "Our scent!" she hissed, turning to dash back to the tunnel.

"No, Russetfur, it's too late!" Poppyfeather hissed. "I can hear them!"

The ginger she-cat ignored her. _I can make it back in time. I have to make it back in time..._ She thought, sprinting back to the tunnel. She ran through it to the other side, where a patch of strong smelling weeds grew. She tore a bunch from their stems with her teeth, earning herself two or three thin cuts in her mouth from the sharp edges.

She sprinkled the plants through the tunnel, and tore the remains of Poppyfeather's nest to bits, heart racing. Voices came from very near the tunnel as she stepped to leave, and the russet warrior cursed under her breath, dashing out the wrong end of the tunnel and burying herself in the same patch of smelly weeds. Water pooled around her paws unpleasantly as she strained to hear.

"Why have you brought your cats onto ShadowClan land?" Nightstar's voice filtered through. _Who is he talking to?_ Russetfur wondered, hackles rising.

A familiar yet foreign voice replied, "In these floods, it was the only way to reach Fourtrees. We mean no harm, Nightstar. You know there's a truce for the Gathering." She strained to hear the last of the sentence, her brain burning to find out who was on their territory. Yet as she looked around her, she saw the she was perched on the highest bit of earth around, and her paws were still soaked halfway up her leg. ThunderClan's land was flooded._ Bluestar!_ she realized. _That's Bluestar's voice!_

"The truce holds at Fourtrees." came Nightstar's voice again, hostile. "There is no truce here." Russetfur's heart sped up again. Was Nightstar really going to attack ThunderClan on the night of a Gathering?Did they stand a chance, in their weakened state?

Bluestar's voice sounded again, a hint of desperation in it. "I'm sorry, Nightstar. We would never trespass on your territory without good reason. Please let us pass." Russetfur couldn't make out what was said next, until the last voice she wanted to hear piped up.

"Spy? What can we spy on here? We're nowhere near your camp!" Tigerclaw growled, making the ginger she-cat sink her claws into the soggy earth while simultaneously beginning to well up with grief.

A few moments later, after a bit of indiscernable banter, she heard Nightstar growl, "Keep back. We'll let them pass. I want ThunderClan cats at this Gathering." The leader paused. "We'll even give you an escort. Just to make sure you get to Fourtrees safely. We wouldn't want ThunderClan to be scared off by an angry mouse, would we?" he added scathingly.

That was the last of what Russsetfur heard, as the ShadowClan patrol did not lead them through the tunnel. It was a long-guarded secret, and it was going to stay that way, apparently. After minutes of crouching in the frigid water, Russetfur crept back through the tunnel, ears pricked for any residual warriors. When it seemed safe, she sprinted to the juniper bush, being as quiet as she could. "You're safe!" Snowkit cried.

"Shhh!" Poppyfeather scolded, lashing her tail back and forth. turning to Russetfur, she asked urgently, "Did you hear what happened with ThunderClan?"

Russetfur nodded. "Yes. I couldn't make it back, so I was hiding just on the ThunderClan side of the Thunderpath. I heard almost everything."

Poppyfeather shuddered. "They were almost on top of us. I thought every second that they would find us. It was awful..." she looked down. "I can't believe that ThunderClan had the nerve to trespass! I wish Nightstar would have had them torn to pieces. We outnumbered their patrol two to one! We would have won easily." she meowed bitterly, narrowing her eyes.

"I didn't realize you would be so adamant about this." The tortoiseshell looked up threateningly. "Not that I don't agree. I just thought that kittypets were afr- against battles." She amended.

Poppyfeather stood up. "I lived with Twolegs for ten suns, when they locked me in so I couldn't escape and had the Cutter stab me with metal sticks." She spat. "I'm no fat, soft kittypet."

"I'm sorry-" Russetfur began, only to be cut short.

"Don't bother! Half the cats in ShadowClan don't respect me because they think of me as a soft, pregnant kittypet who wouldn't know a belly rake from an upright lock. Don't assume things about other cats when you have no idea what the real story is." Poppyfeather growled condescendingly.

Normally too stubborn to admit fault, Russetfur simply accepted it. She had assumed that Poppyfeather was just a soft kittypet. And she was wrong in doing so. Poppyfeather turned away from her and scraped a hollow in the ground beneath the bush, completely hidden. "Come on, kits. Let's get some rest." she said more gently. Russetfur, guilt sinking it's toxic fangs into her heart, made her own scrape under a different juniper plant and huddled down, branches poking her while the scent of juniper filled her nostrils.

* * *

**A/N: Hello! I've been busy with finals (ick) but I'm back. Sorry this chapter was so short, but the next one will be double long to make up for it. Also, !IMPORTANT! I'm adding mini-stories after the Allegiances chapters in order to keep up with FFN rules. I have the first one, in Chapter 9, up already. Check it out while I work on the next chapter!**


	46. NOTICE

A/N: Hello. It's been a really long time. I apologize for that. I should have written this notice earlier. That's right, this isn;t even a chapter, it's a notice. Of hiatus. Probably an extended one. After having re-read this story... I can't consciously leave it up as is. I am re-writing it. I hate the way it started and what it has turned into. So... I'm going to end it, and start over. I'm leaving it up for a month, so I can get a head-start, and then I will take this down and start posting it from the beginning. I'm sorry, but it really, really has to be done. And it will be different. Better. Readers thus far will know mostly what's going to happen, but some things will be different, and it will be overall different. I'm really very sorry. I hope you will read the re-write, but you absolutely need not feel any obligation to, as I know how much this sucks. Well... I'll see you all in a month! (Because, by the rules of FF, I cannot just post the above notice... I have a snippet of story for you. )

* * *

Snowkit woke, the sharp scent of juniper in his nostrils. Inhaling deeply, he could tell that Poppyfeather and the kits were in their new nest in the juniper, while Russetfur had left a while ago. Slowly opening his bright, intelligent golden eyes, he stretched his muscles and got to his paws silently, jaws wide in a yawn. He shook scraps of grass from his fur, his muscles complaining from his sleep on the hard ground.

His stomach growled, and he frowned, knowing that Russetfur wouldn't be back with food for some time, and that what she brought was mostly for Poppyfeather and her kits' benefit. Considering this, he decided to hunt for himself. Ears pricking, he smiled at the thought of catching his own food. How jealous Blossomkit and Thornkit would be! Pain struck him like a bolt of lightning as he had heard the warriors whispering when he was still in the camp. Whispering how his brother and sister were going to die. Snowkit wondered if they were, if he would ever see them again, and a tear rolled down his face. He shook it, and the thoughts that created it, away. It was time to hunt.

Quickly realizing that Russetfur would be very angry if he went too far, and that Poppyfeather would worry, he chose a nearby grove of shrubs as his location. One one side, they dipped down to a marshy puddle that wasn't much bigger than the snarl of junipers he now slept in, but would surely hold some kind of prey.

Sharp eyes peering through the shrubs provided him a disappointing sight. The only life in the puddle he could see were a few dull-scaled minnows. He turned away, then stopped in his tracks, tail flicking side to side. If RiverClan could do it... Why couldn't he? Padding softly to the edge of the silty water, he studied the fish for a moment, before dipping his paw in swiftly, outstretching his claws at the point exactly above the fish and came up with- nothing. The minnows swam to the other side of the puddle. Confused as to how he missed, the kit shook the water from his paw and tried again.

Another miss. Frustrated, he hopped right into the center of the puddle, the water coming up to his chin, and swung his paws blindly in the water. Finally, he hooked a minnow on his claws and tossed it on shore, coming up with another in the same manner. "There." Snowkit mewed in a matter-of-fact tone. "There."

Poppyfeather struggled not to laugh as a muddy, sopping wet Snowkit entered the junipers, carrying two minnows in his jaws. "Been hunting?" she asked innocently, unable to keep a smile from her face.

Tossing a minnow to her, he meowed darkly,"Shut up." And settled into his meal.


End file.
